One is All it Takes
by Ammirra
Summary: Making a mistake, a desperate mother tries to fix it. The only way she can is to go back and re-claim her daughter. But what if said daughter is under the care of a certain Inugami diayoukia? OCxSess pairing
1. Chapter 1

One Is All It Takes

Synopsis: Making a mistake, a desperate mother tries to fix it. The only way she can is to go back and re-claim her daughter. But what if said daughter is under the care of a certain Inugami diayoukia?

Rating: M for nudity, later sexual content, harsh language and violence.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

A/N: hello. This would be my first Inuyasha story. I have two other fics going right now, and try to post chapters at relatively the same time, so sometimes I may be a little slow updating. Anyways, I've been sitting on this idea for awhile, and finally thought I'd give it a shot.

_**One is All it Takes**_

_Prologue:_

She was running, a three year old girl clutched to her. Behind her she heard the screams of her sisters and mother, but there was nothing she could do. There was a man running along side her, but she could not look at him. She had not been able to look at him for a long time.

Her long hair shot out behind her as she continued to run. The girl was beginning to wake, and pulled on her sleeve, wanting to know what was going on. She hushed the child, and continued to run, able to hear their pursuers catching up. Desperate to protect the still groggy child she ran faster, only to feel her foot catch on the curb as she came off the road onto the sidewalk across the street. She held back her dismayed cry as she fell forward, twisting her body awkwardly so the girl would not be crushed.

The man came to a stop, several feet ahead of her, and then bolted back. He helped her to her feet again, and shoved something in her hand, his mouth moving rapidly.

Her eyes were wide; clearly surprised he would help her. He shouted at her to get moving, and she nodded, looking one last time at him, and then their pursuers, before she began to run again. She could not help but look over her shoulder, and saw him crumple after being hit by a blue light. Tears came freshly to her eyes. In a desperate ploy to get away she dug deep into herself, and called to something there.

Almost instantly she felt her senses sharpen, and strength return. Her speed increased greatly, and she soon could barely hear those who pursued her. She slowed, looking over her shoulder tentatively. They were still there, but they were in dead falling behind. Setting her jaw she changed course slightly, and continued running.

When she came to bridge she veered away, going down to the water below it. They were still following, she could smell it. So she had no choice, as they had started to gain on them again. Looking at the thing she had been given, a strange pendant, she slipped it around the girls neck, urging her to remaining quiet.

Then she walked with the girl right to the edge of the water. She was murmuring something under her breath, as she lowered the girl so her feet where just above the water. "Please, please just remember my face," she pleaded, before letting the girl go completely.

The child was engulfed in a purple light, which soon disappeared. When it was gone, there was no child, only the woman with her tear streaked face. Hearing those who hunted her sliding down towards her, she turned, and ran out over the shallow water, and up the other side. She continued to run into the night.


	2. Scent becomes hope

One is All it Takes

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Inuyasha. If I did, you would not be reading this here.

A/N: hey, yeah I know the prologue was awfully short. I assure you none of the chapters will be near that short. Okay seeing as I currently have a ridiculous amount of free time, updates won't take near as long as I thought.

_**One is All it Takes**_

_Scent becomes hope:_

"Madam," a man in a black butler suit spoke softly to the woman sitting in the seat by the window. "The pilot has informed me we are set to begin our landing soon."

The woman was looking out the window with her strange indigo eyes. She was supporting her slim face with a pale, delicate hand. Upon each check bone was a green stripe, and on her forehead a four point star with an elliptical petal between each point. This mark was also green.

When the man spoke she turned her head to him, causing her long silvery violet hair to shift about her shoulders. "Thank you, Alder. You may take your seat," her voice was kind, but she did not smile at him.

"Of course, Madam," he gave a bow at his waist, and moved through the private plane to his seat, were he proceeded to buckle himself in.

She watched him for a moment, before she put her own seatbelt on. That done her eyes immediately returned to the window. _It has been five years since I left_, she mused to herself. Five years traveling the world, and she still had not found what she was looking for. Biting her lip she soon was aware of the familiar taste of copper. Sighing she bit her lip, licking away the blood.

Closing her eyes she took several deep breaths. As she did so she brushed her hair aside to reveal one pointed ear. The tips of her fingers touched the ear lightly as she continued to breathe deeply. As she felt the plane start it's descent the always strange feeling of folding in on herself enveloped her senses. Slowly her ear reshaped itself, till the point was gone. Her fingernails receded somewhat, no longer such a menacing length. The strips, and green mark on her forehead, faded into her skin, which became more flushed. Last off all was her hair. She could feel it's length receding, until it was of shoulder-blade length. The silvery stuff steadily darkened in colour, and the violet shade disappeared.

As the plane touched down the woman was now black haired, her eyelids fluttering open to reveal brown eyes. _This still is so uncomfortable_, she thought to herself. Sighing she gazed out the window once more, seeing the pavement speed beneath the plane until it finally came to a stop. Once it did she unclipped her seat belt, and was immediately on her feet.

At current she was dressed in a white blouse, with a grey tailored business coat over top. She wore the matching grey skirt, reaching around her knees, and beige stockings. She was wearing comfortable black flats, rather than heals… never liking them much.

She straightened her skirt a little, before retrieving her briefcase. She had been traveling the world looking into ancient legends and artefacts. After… after coming through the incident that had taken her family from her, she had went right to large business that secretly looked into things of that sort. She had not intended to get a job there, only to get assistance, but the offered, and she took the opportunity. They said she could travel were she pleased, as long as he returned to Tokyo every five years… so here she was.

She was dreading stepping off that plane. She knew it was very likely the media would be there, waiting to interview her. Five years ago they had never gotten the chance; she had managed to get away too quickly… of course that just made it worse now. They would have far too many questions… she could only hope security could hold them off.

Alder was standing, waiting near the lowering stairs for her to proceed him out of the plane. The moment she stepped in front of him she could hear the sounds of cameras. Cursing silently, and taking another deep breath, she stepped onto the stairs and made her way down.

She was almost instantly bombarded by questions. "Rezei-san, how does it feel to be back in Japan for the first time in five years?" was predominant at first.

"It is nice to be back were I was born," she replied to that one. There were others she chose not to answer. The security was soon pushing the reporters aside, but they kept coming, flashing pictures.

Then it came, the one question she just couldn't handle. "Rezei-san, what of the case on your missing daughter?"

She stopped right were she was, midway through taking a step. She felt it flare out of her, even though she tried to keep it from doing so. The nearest camera cracked, startling the reporters. "That is none of your business," she said coolly, regaining most of her composure.

Finally the security guards succeeded in doing their job, opening a clear path to her limo, which she took. Alder opened the door for her, and she slipped into the vehicle. No sooner had he closed the door for her had she leaned her head against the cool, tinted window.

Rezei… she had not heard her surname in a quite some time. She never gave it out when she was on her trips, choosing to go by her first name alone. Or, in some cases, a part of her first name, as some people just did not have the patience for the whole thing. As she thought, feeling tears beginning to slip down her face, she was aware the radio was on.

'The Rezei plane has been reported having touched down. Rezei, Noriyuune…'

"turn it off," he called up to the driver, who did as he was told. The limo was moving by now, and she closed her eyes tiredly so as not to the scenery moving by through the tinted windows. The cool glass felt good against her cheek until it began to warm form her body heat, and get wet from the tears she was letting freely slide down her face.

Sighing she leaned back into her seat, letting her currently black locks slide into her face. "Of all the questions," she mumbled aloud, without meaning to. She was returning to Japan having failed to find a way to her daughter, she did not like the reporters reminding her of that failure.

She remained as she was for some time, before she found the air in the moving vehicle to become stuffy. "How long till we change vehicles?" she asked tiredly.

"Madam we are nearly at the switching point," came the soothingly familiar voice of Alder. Alder had served her family for many long years, and continued to serve her well. He was old, very old, but his hair was only now greying.

She found his loyalty a little surprising, when she stopped to think of what he was. The man was not a man, but a youkia; a cross between a snake and a fox youkia to be exact. If you knew that you could pick up the slight hiss that was always present in his voice. As a child she had found the hiss disturbing, and she had mistrusted him. However she had many reasons to give him full trust now.

"Thank you," she said softly, knowing he would hear her well enough. Absently she wondered where they were switching. She opened her eyes slowly to look out the dark glass. They must have been driving for some time, as they were currently on a residential street. She watched as steps leading up to a shrine soon came into view, and felt like gagging. To her distress the Limo came to a stop.

* * *

A frustrated girl pulled herself up a ladder and out of well. "Stupid Inuyasha," she mumbled as she made her way out of the well house. She half ran to the house in the shrine grounds. "I'm home!" she called when she reached the door.

"Oh! Kagome!" came a female voice, soon after a woman peeked out from the kitchen to look at the black haired teen.

"Mama!" Kagome greeted her happily. She smelled something good.

"Your just in time for breakfast," Kagome's mother told her. "Come, eat," she ushered her daughter into the kitchen.

"Neesan," a young boy greeted, "your back."

"Hey, Souta," Kagome greeted her little brother. He grinned at her, as she took her seat at the table. She looked at the elder man who sat there was well, "Hey Jiisan."

"Welcome back, Kagome," he returned her greeting. The family was soon seated, and got through there breakfast.

"Kagome, If you hurry you can still make it to school today," Kagome's mother told her. "I'll take care of the dishes."

"Thanks, Mama," The teen said before rushing up the stairs to her room. She closed the door, and quickly changed into her school uniform, and grabbed her bag. She was soon back down the stairs, "I'm off!" she called from the door, slipping her feet into her shoes and running out the door. Her feet moved quickly over the ground as she headed for the steps. She didn't slow down much as her foot came down on the first step, she continued her pace down.

When she reached the bottom she turned rather sharply, and then fell back with a startled shout after colliding with someone. She looked up, rubbing her bottom a little, "I'm so sorry!" Then she blinked. She knew who the person she ran into was.

Noriyuune was surprised when a girl ran right into her, knocking her of balance. She nearly snapped at the girl in a green and white school uniform… until she caught a peculiar scent coming off the girl. Straightening herself she brushed out her skirt as the girl apologized, trying to identify the scent. "It's alright, " She said when she noticed the girl was staring at her with her chocolate coloured eyes. She held her hand out to help her to her feet.

Kagome accepted the help, getting to her feet and grabbing her bag, apologizing yet again.

"Really, It's alright," Noriyunne said. Even though she was sure the girl knew her name she gave it anyway. "What's your name?"

Kagome blinked at the question, "Higurashi, Kagome."

She smiled at her, "Well, Higurashi-san. It was nice bumping into you. Maybe I'll see you again during my stay. Oh… please don't tell anyone you saw me."

"Ye-yes, of course, Rezei-san," Kagome stammered. Then she looked at her watch, "Oh no… I'm late. Bye," she called back to the woman as she was already running again. _Something felt a little strange about her_… the girl thought as she continued to rush to school.

Noriyuune watched her, frown presenting itself. "Alder, could you smell it? She had a faint scent of youkia, and a hanyou coming off her, yet I can tell she is a human girl."

"I smelt it, Madam," Alder confirmed.

She sighed, and began to walk with him to the care that waited a few steps further. He opened the door for her as he had before, and she slipped into the small purple car. He then made his way to the other side, and slipped into the driver's seat. "There aren't any Hanyou's in this area," Noriyuune spoke softly. "I would have smelled them."

"There are none," Alder again confirmed.

She sighed, tucking some of her silky hair behind her ear, "So then why would she have that smell coming off her."

"She must have recently been in contact with one," Alder pointed out the obvious as he started the car and manoeuvred it into the street.

"I know that… but how? The smell is fresh enough that the contact must have been very recent, yet I can smell no trail from the hanyou she was in contact with." There was no scent of hanyou any were else in the neighbour hood.

"I do not know, madam," Alder answered as the car proceeded away from the shrine.

"Perhaps my nose is not strong enough as I am," She murmured. Another possibility occurred to her, however. She tried to brush it aside, but it kept tugging at her mind.

_Why else would she have such a smell coming off her, with the smell of youkia as well? _This girl could be doing the very thing she had been trying to accomplish for five years.

A/N: Well there we have it, the first chapter. What is it Kagome senses from Noriyuune? Why can Noriyuune smell a hanyou off of Kagome? Just what is it Noriyuune is trying to do?

Perhaps the next chapter shall give the answers.


	3. Request for a Miko

One is All it Takes

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

A/N: Well here is the second chapter. Hope you readers like it.

_**One is All it Takes**_

_Request for a Miko:_

Noriyunne leaned back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling. She sat at a mahogany desk, in a black office chair. On the desk in front of her sat many copies of old documents. She was looking for anything on the Higurashi shrine that might help explain the scent coming from the girl. However she found she could not concentrate on any of the documents in front of her. Sighing she rubbed her temples. She had a headache.

The majority of her pain was coming from the center of her forehead. She brought her hand there and rubbed the spot were her mark would have been. None of her markings were currently present. _Curse this infernal conflicting blood_, her mind hissed as she continued to rub the sensitive spot with two fingers.

She had run into the girl again yesterday, after getting a few groceries. It had been a full week since she had first arrived in Tokyo. She had immediately noticed the Hanyou scent was still there, but it was much fainter. She had managed to have a chat with the girl as she walked to where Alder had parked the car. It was then that she had felt the spark of miko powers in Kagome.

She had instantly felt the urge to run, but fought it down. From talking to the teen she did not think she was like the group of priests and priestesses that had caused the downfall of her family. She was more powerful then them, even at her tender age, and she was also a very kind soul.

Noriyuune let out a low growl. Her pink lips were pulled back in a snarl, showing fangs. Her hair was currently a dark silvery black, and was about waist length. She was in what she called her 'half' phase. She looked just like a hanyou. Her indigo eyes glared down at her desk, as she reached up to touch one of two lynx like ears. _I hate this! _She inwardly whined, pinching the offending ear.

_Even being in human form is better than this body!_ Her thoughts were violent, and she got up to pace the room. It was always like this. She always pouted, paced, snarled and snapped at anyone nearby. This body made her feel very moody for some reason. Possibly because she had no control over when she was in this form; it happened almost erratically. She could guess the week in which the period would fall, but that was about it.

She took this form for three hours approximately every four and half moon cycles. After that she would find herself in her human body, and unable to shift to her youkia self. She would be in that body for nearly a day, as she waited for her youkia blood to reawaken. Having the option… most of time… to avoid being in a hanyou body in her 'return' phase, she took it gladly. Even if it meant being in the vulnerable human form. That was frustrating too, but at least she was used to being in a human body… more so than that of a hanyou.

She finally stopped her pacing, looking at the fireplace in the study. This room had been her fathers study. That fact momentarily caused a pain in her chest. "Oh father," she whined allowed. There was a portrait of him holding her as a new born hanging above the mantle. Tears briefly gathered in her eyes, and she masterfully fought them back. If only her father had accepted her kitten sooner. Perhaps she would not be without the child now.

She knew why he could not accept her easily. It had to do with the circumstances of her conception, and the blood the child had inherited. She turned her head to the side, seeing the smaller portrait of herself. She was holding a one year old girl with black locks and chocolate brown hair. The child looked completely human. She wondered at how that had come to be.

Inevitably this brought her to a painful train of thought, and she shook it aside, looking back at her father's portrait. Her father had been a full youkia. One of few in this day and age. Her mother had been a hanyou. Though she inherited more youkia blood from her mother than human blood, the amount of human blood was enough to cause her seasonal… _issue_. She growled again, bearing her teeth. This action made her realize her fangs were gone.

She reached up tentatively for the lynx ears, to find that they were gone. Sighing in relief she left the room. "Alder," she called softly.

He was immediately by her side. "Yes, Madam?"

"Could you ready the car?" She asked him softly, her still indigo eyes looking into his strangely topaz ones.

"Madam… It is highly unadvisable for you to leave the house at this time. You can not rely on your youki for protection in your current state."

"I know that!" she snapped it him irritably. Then she sighed, "Alright. Bring my dinner to the study. I will dine there. After that you are to prepare the car." She was not going to give up that easily.

"Madam, as a friend of your late father I can not let you leave alone, in your present condition," Alder hissed softly. His eyes showed a hint of red, and he looked at her almost menacingly.

She rolled her own eyes, "I am very aware of that, Alder. I wish to go for a drive none the less. I am, however, not fool enough to leave on my own, you silly old snake." She turned to re enter the study. "You will accompany of course. I can trust you, can I not?"

Alder blinked, and then resisted the urge to sigh in relief. "Of course you can, Madam," the hiss in his voice was barely noticeable now. "I will return with your meal shortly." He gave her a respectful bow, and then turned and left her to her own devices.

The hybrid looked after him for a moment, and then slipped fully back into the study. "stubborn old fool," she mused to herself as she returned to the desk. Now that the infuriating time as a hanyou was nearly over she felt she might be able to concentrate on the papers that littered her desk.

Rubbing her temples again she made her way to the desk that sat near the middle window in the study. The majority of the walls were covered with bookshelves, filled with books that looked rather old and worn. She gazed at the nearest shelf for awhile, before taking a seat in her black chair.

She leafed through the various papers, looking for something that was promising. Finding a document that looked so, she pushed the others aside. She did not even notice Alder enter the room with a tray of food.

"Madam," the youkia said softly, causing her to look up. She nodded at him to place the tray on the desk. He moved across the room, and holding the tray with one hand, deftly cleared a space for the tray before he set it down. "The car will be ready when you finish your meal." He then bowed his head, and left again.

She barely managed to thank him before he was out of the room. Absently chewing on a piece of bread she began to read the document. She was soon so immersed in it that she did not even realize what it was she was eating. By the time she finished reading she looked rather appalled. "All this time," her voice was bitter as she stood up.

Her answer had been right in front of her the whole time. She just never bothered to look. This was infuriating… but it was too late to rectify. All she could do was use this option now that she had found it… and hope it was not to late for her kitten.

Frowning at that thought she wondered how she could achieve this. Mumbling to herself, she left the tray were it was, and made her way out of the office. Rather than head for the front door she went towards her bedroom instead. Her mind was in overdrive, and she came up with a rather hasty… and perhaps foolish plan. However the final product pleased her, as she slipped into her room.

Alder had been waiting outside the office. He had not even been noticed by the hybrid who he consider his master. This did not bother him, as he slipped into the study and retrieved the tray. He quickly made his way through the very empty house to the kitchen, were he deposited the tray in the sink. He could clean the dishes later. Then the half kitsune, half hebi youkia made his way to the spacious garage. He started the small purple car, and pulled it out in front of the house. He then left the vehicle, and stood by the passenger door… ready to open it for the last Rezei.

When she emerged he was mildly surprised. She was wearing a pale yellow Kimono with a light purple obi. It had plum blossoms gently falling down the sleeves, and at the bottom. She had her black hair pulled up in a bun, secured with two hair sticks he immediately recognized. There were actually needles guised as hair sticks, given to her by her late father.

She was carrying a woven bag on one arm, and he saw within it was something white and pale green. "Madam, where would you like to go?" he asked curiously, opening the passenger door for her.

"A festival," Noriyuune responded to her loyal servant, and only companion. She saw one of his grey eyebrows raise, threatening to disappear in his greying locks. She just smiled at him, as she entered the car and watched him close the door.

He was around the other side of the vehicle in a flash, and soon in the driver's seat. "And where is this festival, Madam?"

* * *

Kagome moaned as she finished what she was doing. Now she had to change. She was helping out with the festival they were having at the shrine today. A festival was not a regular occurrence at her family shrine, but it did happen. Whipping a bead of sweat from her forehead, she made her way back to her house. Once there, she trudged up the stairs to her bedroom… doing her best to ignore her grandfather calling after her to get ready.

She rolled her eyes, before she fell gratefully forward onto her bed. She lay with her body half on the wonderfully soft mattress and blankets. Her eyes closed as she managed to relax for the first time all day. It was short lived, as her grandfather continued to call her.

"Kagome! Kaa-Go-Me!" the old man called from the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm getting ready, Jisan!" she called back, pushing herself off her bed reluctantly. She mumbled to herself about how it was so inconvenient to live at a shrine, although she actually loved it. Still mumbling she found her dark blue hakama and a white Kimono. Quickly dressing she then found her white ribbon which she used to tie her hair back. Absently she looked in her mirror before leaving her room.

Her nose wrinkled as she opened her door. _I do not look like her_, she told herself irritably, and left her room. She made her way down the stairs, and listened patiently as her grandfather went on about what she could and could not do, and old legends… as usual. She just nodded her head when required, and then went out to do as he asked.

She found it rather uneventfully. The most fun she could have while this festival was going on was to critique what everyone was wearing. This didn't bring much joy to her evening, and she constantly sighed. It wasn't until a little later that something actually caught her eye.

She saw a woman who seemed familiar. At first she was sure she was a teenager, until she recognized her. It was Rizei Noriyuune, and following behind her was a peculiar looking man with greying hair. It was the man who really caught her attention. She immediately sensed a moderate jyaki, and traced it back to him. He was a youkia.

This was very unexpected. She didn't think there were any youkia left in the modern age. He looked like a normal ningen to, although her senses told her that wasn't true. _Maybe there have always been demons around, and I just never felt there presence before… my spiritual powers have increased, and that is why I can tell he is a demon, _she mused. She had to suppress a frown as she watched Noriyuune and the elder man from the corner of her eye. _What is a demon doing here? And why is Rezei-san with him?_

This troubled her, but she soon lost sight of the two. For the duration of the festival she glanced around to see if she could find them again.

* * *

"What is you wish to do here, Madam," Alder asked his master in a low voice. There were standing away from the festivities at the moment.

"I wish to speak with the Higurashi girl," she answered him carefully. "But it has to wait until this festival is over. Hopefully she is skilled enough to have picked up your presence."

"Are you sure this is a wise decision, madam," the old demon went on. "If she is a priestess, would she not wish to purify us?" He was looking in Kagome's direction cautiously.

"I don't think so," the currently human woman shook her head. "I don't think she is one of _them_," her voice dropped into hissing whisper, "If she was… she would have noticed I was not human when she bumped into me… with her level of power."

This just caused him to frown. His eyes flashed around the area for any possible threat to the young Rezei's life. The ningen were beginning to clear, returning home as the night progressed. Still glancing around cautiously he moved farther into the shadows with the currently human woman. They did not want to be found out before they could get the young priestess on her own.

Alder looked down at the woman beside him. She was rather short, standing next to him. The top of her head didn't quite reach his shoulder. He was rather amazed at how short she was. Her father had been taller then him, and her mother nearly his height. She appeared very delicate standing next to him.

"What?" Noriyunne asked him softly, raising a thin eyebrow. She had glanced over at him to find he was looking down at her. He had a rather peculiar look on his face, which had caught her attention.

"Nothing Madam," He told her, "I was merely remembering your parents." He placed a hand on her shoulder, "We should move farther, some are looking our way." She nodded, and the moved deeper into the shadows till they could no longer be seen. "Why do you wish to speak with the girl?" Alder asked her after several minutes of waiting in the inky shadows.

Noriyuune smiled at him, but said nothing. He would find out soon enough. The two settled into a comfortable silence as they waited for the last of the humans to leave. She tensed when she saw an old man move in their direction. She had to assume he was Kagome's grandfather. When he turned and went back towards the house she let go of a breath she had not known she'd been holding.

She waited a few minutes more, and then stepped out from the shadows, looking cautiously towards the house. She knew Alder was following her without having to look back. Once she was out in the open she waited, prepared to slip back into the shadows should the old man reappear from the house.

* * *

Kagome sighed in relief as she trudged up to her room. The demon who had been with the Rezei woman now totally forgotten. She was tired, and just wanted to head to bed. She had to go through the well tomorrow, and needed all the rest she could get.

She moved to the window, grabbing hold of her curtains to pull them shut. A yawn made it's way out of her mouth, and her free hand came up to cover it. Her eyes were half lidded, as she pulled on the curtains. Half way through the motion she froze. Slowly she lowered her hand from her mouth. Her eyes were now wide and alert. Cautiously she turned her head slightly so she could properly look out the window. She couldn't see anything, yet she could feel the presence. So she stepped closer to the window, peering out into the dark. She knew this feeling vaguely. It was the same youki she had felt earlier. _Coming from the man with Rezei-san_, she thought.

A frown presented itself, as she finished tweaking the curtains shut. She waited a minute before switching the light off. Then she listened intently for the next ten minutes. Finally she moved towards her bedroom door, as the presence was still there. Very quietly she slipped from her room and carefully closed the door behind her. Then she began to creep down the stairs. She found her heart was pounding obnoxiously loud, and was sure someone would hear it. The steps creaked beneath her feet, and she stopped. She could hear her own blood rushing in her ears as she waited to see if the sound has been heard by anyone. When she heard no one, she allowed herself several calming breaths

The young miko was aware of why she was so nervous. She had believed there were no youkia left in her time. However she had discovered this was not so. Now she was going down to meet a _demon_ in _her_ time. It was a rather daunting thought, as she continued to creep towards the door.

Reaching the door without being noticed by her grandfather or her mother, she slipped her feet into her shoes one at a time. Looking back into the house she tried to calm herself again. Then she slid the door open, and stepped outside. She could immediately feel the youki was to the right of were she stood. Looking that way she slid the door shut, before she stepped away from her house. Cautiously she made her way towards the power.

She found she was only mildly surprised when she caught sight of Noriyuune standing by the older man. Absently she noticed the man was two heads taller than herself. Looking at Noriyunne she also noted she was taller than the woman. As she neared them she discovered something else as well. Rezei, Noriyunne was supposed to be thirty, but she looked barely older than herself. This woman looked at least twelve years younger than she was.

"Good evening, Rezei-san," she called softly when she was close enough to be hears. "What brings you to the shrine. The festival is over, as I'm sure you know."

Noriyuune smiled at Kagome. "Good evening, Higurashi-san," she returned the younger girls greeting. "I came to chat… if that is no trouble to you."

Kagome gave a small smile, "Well I can't turn you away, seeing as you've waited so long to chat." She looked briefly back at her house. "Pleas, call me Kagome."

Noriyuune smiled broadly. "How about we take a walk?" she asked, and when Kagome nodded, she turned. She was making her way farther from the house, while Alder remained somewhat behind. "I'm sorry for coming so suddenly… Kagome-chan." She added the honorific tentatively, waiting to see if the girl objected. When she did not, Noriyuune smiled. "Yuune."

Kagome blinked, and it took her a moment to understand. "Yuune…" She realized it was the second half of the woman's name, and this caused her to smile again. "Yuune… chan," she tested it out shyly, looking at said person as they walked. Yuune smiled at her, allowing her to relax. "What would you like to talk about?"

The business woman's smile faded slightly. "You're a miko," a statement. Kagome nodded anyway. "Yu can tell Alder is a youkia?" When she said this she looked back to the grey haired demon.

Kagome nodded, glancing back as well, "Yes."

"I am a demon myself… mostly," the female beside her stated.

Kagome looked back at Noriyuune with a start. "A Hanyou?" After all, Rezei Noriyuune felt very human to her. Inuyasha felt the same on the night of the full moon… that was the only explanation she could think of.

"No," came the hardened voice. Thee was a definite bite in the single word. "I am not even a quarter human."

"Oh," Kagome was taken aback. "Well… You don't feel like a demon," she explained, now very confused.

"Because I do have human blood, there is naturally a time when I am without my demon powers," was the blunt response. Her brown eyes turned to Kagome, and in the moons light they almost looked red.

The miko was silent for a time, before finally nodding acceptance. "Why are you telling me this?"

Alder was listening more intently now. He wanted to know the reason for this as well.

"You may be able to help me accomplish something," Noriyuune looked away with the words, her voice dry.

"And that would be?"

"To see my daughter again," It was blunt, and definitely not what Kagome had been expecting.

"To see your daughter again?" Kagome repeated. "How can I help you do that?" her voice was now barely more than a whisper, as she looked up at the stars rather than the strange woman she walked with.

Noriyuune had trouble hearing Kagome's words, with her currently ningen senses. When her mind fully registered what the miko had said, she bit her lip. Her feet stopped moving, and she looked determinedly at Kagome.

"The Bone Eaters Well."

The miko's eyes grew and, and she slowly turned to Noriyuune. "What do you know… about that dry well?"


	4. Into the Well

One is All it Takes

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha.

A/N: Well hello! Here is the third chapter, hope you enjoy it! And review perchance

_**One is All it Takes**_

_Into the Well: _

"_Can we go inside?" Noriyuune had asked after a few minutes silence._

_Kagome had thought her question was being avoided, but noticed the woman shivering. She frowned, thinking of how she could explain Rezei Noriyuune being at the shrine. An idea occurred to her, and she nodded slowly. "I can make some tea," she said with a smile, before she turned and led Noriyuune back to her house. Reaching the door she slide it open to gain access to the entry way._

"_Mama!" she called, and waited till she heard her mother come down the hall. "Um… This is Rezei Noriyuune…" She gestured to the woman behind her. "Her car broke down, and she needs somewhere to wait."_

_Noriyuune caught on to what Kagome was saying. "I would be very grateful if you allowed me to stay here while Alder," and she gestured to the man behind her and slightly to the side, "Goes to get the other car."_

_Kagome's mother smiled, and had introduced herself, followed by ushering her daughter and the woman inside. Alder had proceeded back down to the car so the false hood could not be revealed._

Kagome now sat across from Noriyuune at the coffee table. She was pouring a cup of tea for her guest. Thinking her mother was out of earshot she opened her mouth to speak.

"Kagome, I brought some snacks," came her mothers cheerful voice as she came into the room.

Kagome had had to hold back a sigh, "Thanks Mama." She managed to keep her annoyance at being interrupted from her voice.

"I'm going to check on Souta," her mother announced. Though the girl had kept the annoyance out of her voice, her mother could tell there was something Kagome wanted to talk to Rezei-san about, without her around. That said she placed the plate of snacks on the table, and then left the room to go upstairs.

Kagome finished pouring the tea, and handed a cup to Noriyuune. "You haven't answered my question," she stated simply.

"No, I suppose I haven't," was the woman's response. "I shall do so now," she went on, before taking a sip of the tea. She placed the cup back on the table, and then looked at Kagome. "I know in the past, long in the past, the well was used to dispose of the corpses of demons. It was said that several days later the bones would disappear. After discovering this I came to the conclusion the well bypasses the normal flow of time."

"How did you learn this?" Kagome questioned thoughtfully, her brow furrowed.

"The company I work for has a facet to it not known to the regular people. It looks into things like this, and issues to do with demons. All the stuff the general public no longer believe in," her brown eyes flashed as she explained this. She paused to sip at her tea again, before she continued. "I got records on the shrine from them, and after extensive digging I found this information."

The young miko was taken aback. This meant there were more youkia… and the world had not changed as much as she thought it had. It took her a moment to formulate her next question. "What prompted you to research the Higurashi shrine in the first place?"

"Bumping into you, when I first returned," Noriyuune shrugged as if there was nothing strange about that. Seeing the confused look on Kagome's face she went on. "I caught the scent of a Hanyou off you, and I could not smell where they were themselves. I knew you were human, so it perked my curiosity."

_Inuyasha_, the teen thought immediately, _she caught his scent coming off of me because he tried to stop me from leaving again_. She almost rolled her eyes as she remembered this. Turning her attention back to Noriyuune she carefully formulated her next question. "So you looked up the shrine, discovered the Bone Eaters well… and then assumed the scent you caught was related to it?"

"Yes."

The gears of her mind were working furiously as she tried to find the best thing to say next. Should she tell the truth or should she lie. "And how do you know it was not a Hanyou in the city you smelled?"

"It smelled canine to me. There are only three canine Youkia in this city and none of them have Hanyou children," the corners of the youkia's mouth twitched slightly at this. She was somewhat amused by the girls evasions. "All full Youkia and Hanyou are registered… for that matter…. Anyone with any drop of youkia blood is registered. I only had to go to the company and asked to see those registered in the city."

"Oh," Kagome said a little dumbly. She had been so neatly caught there. Alright, the next question. "How do you know the smell wasn't from a visiting hanyou?"

"Like I said, all those with youkia blood are registered. Not only are they registered, but their movements are watched. It's purely so We know who could be a threat… and who needs to be protected." Noriyunne shrugged, and took another sip of her tea. "Again, it was simply a matter of me going to the head office, and asking to see the records."

"And besides, if it was a Hanyou from this time I would have smelt their trail, not just the scent coming off you… as strong as it was the Hanyou should have been in the shrine vicinity," she went on, wrinkling her nose for a moment. Her eyes met Kagome's, and narrowed slightly. "Would you stop your Evasions, Kagome-chan? I didn't come to harm you, or force you to do anything."

The younger female regarded her carefully, before she let out a sigh. "The Hanyou you smelled is named Inuyasha. His a half dog Youkia. I released him from a the seal he was under, pinned to the Goshinboku for fifty years. That's five hundred years before our era."

Noriyuune felt her heart leap. This was exactly what she was looking for! Well not exactly, but pretty much. "five hundred years?" she repeated, her voice hopeful.

Kagome blinked, wondering at the tone in her voice. "Yeah, five hundred years. On my Fifteenth birthday I was in the well house to get my cat. A Youkia pulled me into the well, and I found my self in feudal Japan." Her eyes remained trained on the woman across from her. She was looking at her tea, her eyes wide. "Yuune-chan," she said softly and waited for said person to look back at her. "How can the Bone Eaters Well help you see your daughter?"

Noriyuune's eyes fell again, and she stared sadly at her tea. "There was a group of Priestesses, priests, Monks and the like. They took it upon themselves to eliminate demon blood. They saw no place for it in this era. That's why demons, and those kin to them, began to hide their true selves… These people did what ever they thought necessary to rid Japan of youkia blood.

Five years ago someone in my family was seen in their true form by one of the monks. Not long after my home was attacked and we all had to run. Many of our servants were less than half demon. They survived the attack, but… they won't ever be the same. My family was made of Hanyous, as well as those like me with more demon blood than human, and my father who was a full youkia…

We had no choice but to flee, as there were some in the attackers who possessed substantial reiki. Their attacks would render most of us empty shells, and kill some of us on the spot. While my daughter would have lived, I feared they may finish her off after hitting her. I heard of them doing so to some children… even some who were less then half Youkia.

I nearly fell, and my father stopped running. Many of the family had already fallen. He and a few others decided then to stand their ground. My father gave to me a pendant, and said it could save my daughter. Then he told me to run.

As I did so I looked back to see him fall taking an attack aimed at myself. Even so I could not stop, as my daughter was still in my arms. I tried to use my youki to help me escape, but I found I could not summon enough of it. So I ran under a bridge, and used the pendant to get my daughter to safety. She disappeared in a blinding light, and I had no choice but to keep running…"

Kagome listened in a sort of horrified fascination to this tale. She found it hard to believe monks and the like being capable of doing such a thing. She couldn't find her voice though… which ended up being good, because Noriyuune was not finished yet.

"I began regaining my Youki as I ran. Soon after I realized I could not smell my daughter. I found myself in front of the company, and a sought help from them. They discovered my family had all perished. Then they offered me protection, and I was sent to stay with one of them. They found Alder soon after, and I asked him if he knew what the pendant was.

Alder couldn't tell me, so I asked the company to help me find my answer. I discovered that the pendant was an item very much like the well, and it sent my daughter back in time around five hundred years. Since then I have been searching for a way to follow." When she finished she found her hands were shaking. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths.

This time was enough for Kagome to pull her senses back together. "I understand," she said a little hoarsely. She now knew why Noriyuune had come. "Yuune-chan," she began, and then had to stop to think. A frown creased her brow, as she looked at the woman who's eyes were so closed. "If it's possible for me to help you, I will. I promise. I'll do whatever I can to reunite you with your daughter," she was momentarily surprised by her own conviction. This surprise was wiped away when Noriyuune opened her eyes to look at her. She could see the woman had been fighting back tears… but she appeared to have them under control now. "I… I just don't know if you can go through the well to feudal japan."

Yuune smiled sadly, "That's okay. I have to try." The demon then looked at her cup of tea and took a small sip.

Kagome nodded, and finished her own tea. She looked at her empty cup, and they fell into silence. Her eyes wandered to the tray of snacks her mom had brought, but she found she didn't really want any. After several minutes of the two of them just looking at various things around the room, Kagome decided to break the silence. "I'm going through the well first thing in the morning. You could try then."

Noriyuune looked up at the girl, and then nodded. She was about to speak when she heard Kagome's mother approach.

"Oh, Rezei-san, your car hasn't arrived yet?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.

Noriyunne nodded, "No, Alder hasn't returned. May I use your phone? He ought to be back by now."

"Oh of course you can," was the woman's response. Noriyunne smiled and got to her feet.

"Thank you, Higurashi-san." She replied graciously. Kagome's mother continued to smile, and got the phone for her. She took the cordless phone and slowly dialled the number, turning her back to Kagome's mother.

The phone didn't even get halfway through it's first ring when she heard the clicking like sound that normally accompanied someone answering. Her mouth moved quickly, giving Alder instructions in a tone that could not be heard by humans. She could not even hear herself speak, but she knew she was, because he responded easily. When her quick orders were done she allowed her voice to raise. "No, Alder. It's not your fault. I forgot the other care was in the shop." She paused, and then spoke again. "A day? I'll have to call a cab then… … … No I will not call him at this time of night … … … No… I don't have any cash on me… hold on." She held her hand to the receiver, and turned her head to Mrs. Higurashi. "If it's not to much trouble, could I borrow some money for a cab? Our other Car is in the shop and won't be ready till tomorrow evening."

"Not at all," Mrs. Higurashi said, and was about to go off to get some money.

"Mama… why don't we let her stay the night. I know I wouldn't want to take a cab by myself after dark. Some of the drivers are a little… creepy."

The woman thought about that for a moment, and then turned back to Noriyuune. "Would you prefer to stay the night, Rezei-san? We have the room."

The demon made a show of contemplating that, and then gave her a smile. "That would be nice, Higurashi-san. I can call one of my Colleagues in the morning to pick me up. I don't have any meetings until later in the day… yes, that would be very nice." Kagome's mother smiled, and said she would go prepare the spare room. Noriyuune turned back to the phone and spoke with Alder briefly, before hanging up.

"Well, that went well," She said barely loud enough for Kagome to hear. She smiled, and turned to the teenager. "Thank you Kagome-chan."

Kagome smiled, "Don't mention it." The teen stood, and moved over to the young woman. "I'll get the room ready for you." She leaned closer then on hand on Noriyuune's arm. "You may want to call Alder and ask him to bring some supplies, if you haven't already." Her voice was low, barely loud enough to be heard. She stepped away then, her smile back in place. "I'll tell you when the rooms ready." And with that Kagome made her way upstairs.

The demoness looked after her for a time, before she went back to the front door. Slipping her feet back into her sandals she walked outside, moving away from the windows. There she stood in the chilly night, waiting.

Kagome stretched, before she looked around the room in satisfaction. "That should do it," she announced to no one in particular. She hadn't done much... but that wasn't the point. The teenager turned and left the room, making her way down the stairs. She turned around the corner into the living room, and then stopped, blinking.

Noriyunne was sitting at the coffee table like she had before, drinking her tea. She had the bag she had taken with her to the festival leaning against another, larger bag. Smiling at the girl she placed the cup back down. Kagome snapped out of her momentary stupor, and smiled back at her. "Yuune-chan, the room is ready. Would you like to turn in now?"

"Yes, thank you, Kagome-chan." The woman stood slowly, and then took hold of her two bags. She listened to Kagome's instructions on where the room was… which were rather simple. Then she went to the stairs and trekked up them. She turned and followed the short hall until she reached the door of the spare room. Then she slipped inside the room and closed the door. Letting out a sigh she dropped her bags and made her way to the bed. She was too tired to change, or really take in the room. Pulling her hair down she did little more than loosen her obi before she lay on the bed. She told herself she was just resting her eyes, that she would get up in a minute to change. It never happened. The demon fell asleep still laying over the covers.

Kagome stood at the top of the stairs, looking down the hall towards the spare room. Noriyuune was probably already sleeping… it was late after all. He yawned, and rubbed her eyes to keep the open. She really needed to get to bed herself. She wanted to make sure she was packed before she did. Sighing she turned and headed into her own room. Her yellow back pack was sitting at the foot of her bed. Sitting down on it, she pulled the heavy bag up beside her, and opened the flap. Looking inside she did a quick check. Nothing seemed to be missing. Raising her head she scanned her room, just to make sure. There was nothing she could immediately see that she had wanted to bring.

That was certainly good enough for her. She hefted the canvas backpack, and then placed it back on the ground at the foot of her bed. She stretched, before she got to her feet. Gratefully she stripped of the hakama , before she pulled out some fuzzy pyjamas. Removing the white kimono she then slipped into the pyjamas. Sighing, she yanked back the covers, before she set her alarm. Then she crawled into the bed, and pulled the blanket back over her. Snuggling into the warm mattress, she was soon asleep.

She woke a few minutes before her alarm went off. There was no point in going back to sleep, but she could not make herself get up. Turning onto her back she opened her brown eyes so she could gaze at the ceiling. It was still relatively dark out. The sun was just breaking over the horizon. The shadows in her room were long, and rather eerie looking. Kagome laughed at herself… afraid of shadows when she glared down demons? Oh yes, that made loads of sense.

A few seconds later her alarm clock began to ring. It was a rather annoying sound, and she almost picked it up and tossed it across the room. She managed not to, just turning the alarm off as she swung her feet out of bed. She sat there a moment, feet just touching the floor. Then she stood, stretching. Quickly she left her room, her uniform in hand, and disappeared into the washroom. Fifteen minutes later she re-emerged with wet, clean hair. She was now fully dressed.

The teenager decided she should wake up Noriyuune soon, so they could attempt to make it seem she did leave with a colleague. It was probably best her family didn't know about Noriyuune Rezei being a demon… well, mostly. And she didn't want to get them involved, Noriyuune probably would not appreciate that. Nodding to herself she moved down the hall, and gently knocked on the door.

The other female jolted awake. She sat up straight, and looked towards the door.

"Yuune-chan, would you like to have a shower?" Kagome called through the door.

"Yes," was the woman's response, as she stood. Kagome told her were the bathroom was, and assured her that a towel would be waiting for her. Noriyuune thanked her, and Kagome made her way back to her bedroom.

She closed the door behind her, and went to sit on her bed, just wanting to think for awhile. Her thoughts ranged, from searching for the jewel shards, to her school work, to this new challenge. Finding Noriyunne's daughter. Could she handle so much? She was still going to school! Sighing she flopped back onto her bed, staring at the ceiling once more. When she heard the shower start she pulled herself up again.

"I better take this downstairs," she mumbled to herself, hefting her heavy backpack onto her back. Groaning because of the ridiculous weight she dragged herself over to the door and opened it once more. The black haired teen then trekked down the stairs. She walked over to the front door, and placed her bag down. Turning Kagome rolled one shoulder, and then the other. "Stupid bag," she mumbled, as she walked to the kitchen. Since they had to leave early, she thought she should make a small breakfast for them, and leave a not for her mother. But to her surprise her mother was already in the kitchen, cooking. "Mama!"

"Good morning, Kagome," her mother turned and smiled at her, and then went back to cooking. "I thought you might be leaving early. Has Rezei-san called for a ride yet?"

"I think she did…. She's in the shower now."

"Oh, I see," the woman answered, frowning slightly. "I wonder when her ride will be here, I thought she might like some breakfast before she goes. What do you think?"

"Uuumm… I don't know," Kagome responded, trying to keep the nervousness from her voice. "You'll have to ask when she comes down." Hoping she sounded convincing, but not wanting to take the chance she quickly changed the subject. "What's for breakfast?"

"Just eggs and bacon," the woman replied.

"Good morning."

Kagome turned at the voice to see Noriyuune had entered the kitchen. She was now wearing a light blue kimono with green leaves decorating it, and a green obi. "good morning, Yuune-chan."

Kagome's mother turned to look at the other woman. One eyebrow raised when she saw she was wearing a new Kimono. She didn't say anything about it though.

"Mmm, something smells good," Noriyuune announced cheerily. "I'm famished!" Her proclamation of hunger caused both other females to laugh. Kagome's mother set two plates on the table, with eggs and bacon. "Thank you," she spoke as she came to sit down. She ate quickly, explaining that her ride would be here soon. When she finished she politely brought her plate to the sink.

"Thank you again, for letting me stay the night," She smiled at the Higurashi woman. Gathering her bags she headed to the door. She heard Kagome saying goodbye to her mother, and grabbing her own bag to follow her. Slipping her feet back into her sandals she slid the door open and stepped outside. Then she moved to the side and waited.

Kagome soon joined her outside, looking around for a moment before she spotted the demon in human form. "This way," she said softly, and lead her towards the well house. Sliding the door open she stepped inside and went down the stairs to place her hand on the rough wood of the well. Slowly she turned back to Noriyuune. "Well… lets give it a shot," she said softly.

Noriyuune was standing beside her by now, and she nodded. With their begs hefted up over their shoulders they both climbed over the lip of the well "One… two… three.." the both said in unison, and then slipped down into the well.


	5. Stranger

One is All it takes

**Disclaimer:** nope, don't own Inuyasha

A/N: Well, here's the fourth chapter, at last. Sorry the update took so long for this chapter. I knew what I wanted to happen in this chapter, but I hit a little hitch in the middle of it. I'm not really one for making big detailed plans before writing a story... just basic outlines...

Any who... I don't want to withhold chapters for reviews... but it really would be nice to know what my readers think about this rather than having to guess. If I just wanted to write this, and didn't care about feedback, I wouldn't bother posting it here in the first place. Reviews would be very welcome.

_**One is All it Takes**_

_Stranger:_

She didn't think it had worked. She had never really expected it to in the first place. And it didn't really feel like someone was falling through the well with her. No one could go through it but her and Inuyasha. Souta had tried, and so had Shippo. Between them she was positive the well would not work for others. Well… she wasn't absolutely positive. Once or twice she had wondered. Inuyasha had a reason to go through the well… sort of. To get her. And she had a reason to go through as well, to collect the shards of the Shikon no Tama. But Souta had had a purpose, and so had Shippo…

But neither of them would have been able to last in the other Era. She had wondered if that was why. But then she would remember she had been unable to go through the well when she did not have at least one Shikon shard with her. That was her purpose for travelling back five hundred years though… so maybe that was why.

She was so distracted by her thoughts that when her feet touched the ground the weight of her backpack startled her and set her off balance. She stumbled backwards, to be stopped by one hand on her shoulder, and another on her bag. "Easy there," someone spoke at her ear. She turned to see who it was.

Noriyuune stood there, her bags at her feet. She was looking at Kagome carefully with her brown eyes. Kagome blinked, a little surprised. "You made it through…." She breathed the words.

"You didn't think I would?" The woman inquired, one eyebrow raised. Kagome had shaken her head, and she shrugged it off. She bent down to pick up the bags. "So, do you have any travel companions in this time, Kagome-chan?"

"Mmhmm, there's Shippo," she started, while she tried to heft her bag over the lip of the well. It was too heavy. Suddenly it was lifted from her hands, and she blinked, turning just in time to see Noriyuune gracefully rise to the wells rim. The woman disappeared for a moment, before one of her pale hands came over the edge and she smiled at Kagome. _She really is a demon_, she thought. Although the woman had been verbally convincing, she had doubted until now. Eyes widened to give her a sort of mesmerized look; she reached up and placed her hand in Noriyuune's.

No sooner did she feel Kagome's hand in hers then she pulled up and the girl was beside her. "You were saying?"

"Wha?"

The demon smiled, brushing some stray hair behind her ear. "Shippo is….?"

"Oh!" Kagome blushed in embarrassment, having forgotten all about the question. "Shippo is a kitsune, he's still a kit, and loves to play. And then there is the fire Neko, Kirara. Sometimes there is a demon flea by the name of Myoga who travels with us. He's Inuyasha's vassal, I think. Inuyasha would be the hanyou you smelled. He's a half Inugami demon. His father was an Inugami Diayoukai, or so I'm told." She stopped to take a breath, and heft her bag back up onto her back. She groaned at the weight, rolling her eyes.

"My father was a Diayoukia," her companion said softly, and she turned to look at her.

Kagome decided to continue, she didn't like the weight of sorrow the air had taken on. "There's also a demon slayer, by the name of Sango. Kirara is her companion. And last there is Miroku, he's a monk. Watch out for his right hand, he is definitely a letch." She laughed, and was relieved that she was joined in by the other.

Noriyuune smiled, though she was a little uneasy about a monk and a demon slayer. She couldn't help it; it was those sorts of people who had destroyed her family. Even so, Kagome was nice enough, and she was hoping these companions would be as well.

"Will you be traveling with us?" Kagome asked, snapping the other female out of her thoughts.

"yes, until I get more used to this time… if that's alright."

"Of course it is," Kagome nodded at that. "Come on, they'll be waiting down in the village."

_Kagome glanced down at Shippo, who was drawing on some paper with the crayons she had given him. She looked back at the pictures in her hand. Looking at one, she then slid it to the back to look at the next. "Did you draw these, Shippo-chan?" She flipped to the next as she spoke. "I didn't know you were so creative." Again she flipped to the next, "The cat is adorable!"_

"_Does she look familiar?" Shippo asked enthusiastically, looking up at Kagome. "She's supposed to be you. The story is about a love triangle between the cat, a two legged dog and a wolf man."_

_As he spoke she arrived at the picture of the pink cat jumping down into a well. She was aghast. "H-hold on a minute. Have you shown this to anybody else?" she asked, clutching the pictures to her chest, as if that would make them disappear._

"_I showed it to Kaedebaa-chan, and she said it was really good!" the Kitsune announced, grinning innocently._

"_So Kaede- knows why me and Inuyasha have been fighting?" The teen asked, her face now flushed in embarrassment.._

"_Yup. And I was so proud of them I showed them to the whole village! I got lots of compliments!" he kicked his feet leisurely, waving his crayon about. _

_Kagome laughed nervously, deciding she needed to get out of the village as quickly as possible. This was just too embarrassing! _

"_Is something wrong, Kagome?" Shippo asked, looking at her curiously. "You're all red."_

"_Uh... I just remembered, there's a festival at the shrine tomorrow... I have to go back home and help out!" She got hastily to her feet, taking the drawings with her. "I'll be back the day after. Tell Inuyasha, okay?"_

_Shippo blinked, then nodded a little dumbfounded. "Okay...."_

_Kagome barely heard his affirmative, as she rushed back outside and made her way as quickly as she could to the well, without breaking into a run._

Shippo looked down at what he was drawing, humming as he added a blue cloud. Kagome would be coming back today. He wondered why Inuyasha didn't go after her when she went home so soon. Maybe it was because they had been fighting. Or were still fighting. "I wonder when she'll be back," the boy mused aloud. Probably soon, he thought when he looked up at the sun. Excitedly he packed up his drawing stuff, getting to his feet to find the others. He found them all waiting at Kaede's hut, Inuyasha on the roof scowling up at the sky. As always.

"Kagome isn't back yet?" he asked, rushing up to Sango.

"No, she hasn't returned yet," Sango answered, Kirara mewing an affirmative from where she sat on Sango's shoulder. "I'd imagine she'll be here soon," the demon slayer went on to say, brushing some of her black hair off her shoulder. Hearing a low growl she glanced up at Inuyasha. "She had something to do at home, Inuyasha. We can't just pull her away from her family all the time."

Inuyasha jumped down from the roof, glaring at Sango. "It's not that!" he tried to defend himself.

"Well then what is it, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked sceptically, coming up behind Inuyasha to place a hand on the hanyou's shoulder.

Inuyasha growled before turning on Miroku. "There's another scent with Kagome's!" he shouted.

"Another scent?" Sango looked at Inuyasha with the same sceptical look Miroku had given him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure!" Inuyasha barked, looking ready to strangle the next person who looked at him like that.

"Inuyasha's right," Shippo cut in finally. "I smell it too."

"Oh," Sango said, waving her hand apologetically at Inuyasha. "I wonder who it could be."

Inuyasha growled irritably, turning away from the rest of the group. "Smells human, but something isn't right..."

"What are you talking about, Inuyasha?" Shippo asked innocently. "They smell just like a normal human to me."

Inuyasha glared at Shippo, bringing his fist down on the Kitsune's head. "I'm telling you, something's off!"

"What's off, Inuyasha?" Kagome stood at the end of the path, holding the straps of her yellow back pack. She was looking at Inuyasha curiously. Next to her stood a woman, some of her black hair pulled out of her face in a half tail. She was wearing a blue Kimono, decorated with green leaves. Around her waist she had a green Obi and in one of her hands she held the strap to her own bag.

Inuyasha turned to look at Kagome, but his eyes soon went to the new woman. "Kagome who is this!" he demanded to know, jumping in front of the two females. "And why is she here?"

Kagome glared at him, "Inuyasha... Sit." She was satisfied with the thud that came after. Looking down at the hanyou now on the ground, she gestured to the woman beside her. "This is Noriyuune-" but she didn't get any farther than that

Miroku had come up in front of the woman, taking one of her hands in both of his. "Fair maiden!" he began, "Would you consider bearing my chi-"

Noriyuune pulled her hand away from Miroku, glaring at him coldly. "I don't suggest you finish that," she said coolly.

Miroku froze, not used to getting such a look from a woman, aside from Kagome and Sango. He backed away, "My... my apologies Miss."

Kagome and Sango where both glaring at him, but Kagome went on. "Noriyuune is from where I come from. She came to the shrine for help. Something happened, and _her daughter_ ended up here." She emphasized the fact that Noriyuune had a child. "So she asked me to help find her. She'll be traveling with us for awhile."

Miroku looked taken aback. "Your daughter?" He appeared to be quite disappointed.

Yuune didn't bother to look back him. "Yes, my daughter." She turned then to Kagome, "Thank you again for your kindness, Kagome-chan."

Inuyasha had by now jumped to his feet, and had started to growl. "No!" He barked. "We don't need some useless woman. She'll just get in our way! We're hunting for the Shikon shards, and for Naruku!"

Noriyuune scowled at Inuyasha, who was insulting her as if she wasn't even there. However, she kept her cool. "The Shikon No Tama, you mean?" she asked innocently.

Inuyasha slowly turned to the woman. "How do you know about that?" If she was from Kagome's time, it didn't make sense that she would know about the Shikon jewel.

"How? Kagome-chan lives at a shrine. I heard the legend while visiting," was her simple response. "But what do you mean... Shikon _shards_?"

"You're not coming with us! It's none of your business," Inuyasha snapped back at her. "We don't have time to help you look for your brat! And even if we did, It's too dangerous for someone like you!"

"For someone like me?" The woman's eyes had narrowed once more. "Why, Inuyasha. You've barely even heard my name. I doubt you know what sort of a person I am."

"Oh yeah? I can tell by looking at you!" The hanyou growled.

Her two hair sticks flew from her hand, past Inuyasha's cheek. One grazed the skin, and then embedded itself with the other in a tree ten feet behind him. "Looks can be deceiving."

Inuyasha was dumbfounded for a moment. Then he let out an angry growl, cracking his fingers. He was getting ready to attack her, when Kagome stepped in... or rather, shouted in. "Sit!" And for the second time since Kagome had introduced the newcomer, Inuyasha was pulled down upon his face by the subjugation beads. Kagome sighed, before she turned her eyes back to Noriyuune. "Sorry about that." She gave the older female a smile. "That violent thug is Inuyasha," she went on. Inuyasha was pushing himself up as she spoke. "Sit," she said the word again, before she moved on to introduce their new companion to everyone else. "The monk is Miroku, and Sango is the demon slayer. The Neko on her shoulder is Kirara.... SIT!"

Inuyasha was forced back down by Kagome's command. Shippo tried not to laugh at him. Instead he walked up to Noriyuune. "I'm Shippo," he said, pointing to himself. "It's really nice to meet you."

Noriyuune smiled at the Kitsune., "It is very nice to meet you, Shippo-kun." She turned her attention then to Sango, "And you, Sango-chan." She used the suffix tentatively, taking in the slayer's reaction to it. "Please, let me properly introduce myself. My name is Rezei Noriyuune, but you may call me Yuune."

Sango smiled back at the other woman, inclining her head to her kindly. "It's very nice to meet you, Yuune-chan."

"SIT!"By now everyone ignored the word, and the following slam to the ground. There was an Inuyasha shaped hole at this point. Kagome was the only one who even glanced in his direction now... which was more like a glare. She turned back to the others, giving them a warm smile. "So, Yuune-chan is going to be traveling with us for now."

Sango smiled at the woman, not having many objections. She was a little concerned if the woman could fight or not though. "Kagome... I hate to say it, but I kind of agree with Inuyasha. It might be too dangerous."

Noriyunne continued to smile, walking over to the tree to pull out her hair sticks. "You don't have to worry about me, Sango-chan. I know how to take care of myself. I'll only travel with you guys for awhile."

Miroku stepped forward then. "Worry not! I will do my best to protect the fair mai-"

There was a resounding crack, Miroku's head snapped back, and his cheek went red. Sango still held her hand up, ready to strike. She glared at the monk, before turning back to Noriyuune. "And I'll protect you from him." She shot another glare back at the monk, who sank away, face tuning a tad blue.

Inuyasha had finally managed to pull himself out of the ground, and get to his feet. There was no sit command from Kagome, so he remained silent, hoping in doing so Kagome wouldn't say that word. When he found himself still on his feet, even after Kagome looked his way, he sighed in relief. Still, there was no way he was going to have this woman travel with them. "She's not coming," he growled, once more disregarding his safety. "I already said. We don't have time to look for her brat!"

"Inuyasha," Kagome was glaring at the hanyou again. He turned towards her, his ears pressed to his skull. "Sit," and with the single word he was forced to eat dirt again. The teen then turned back to the rest of her companions. "Well, let's get going then." She gave a false smile, as she was still angry at Inuyasha. She sent another withering glare back at the now dazed hanyou, before she started off. The others looked at each other, before they followed after the teen.

Noriyuune had one brow raised, glancing at the hanyou, before she shrugged, and caught up with the rest of the group. Inuyasha might become somewhat of a nuisance, but she would manage. Hopefully she wouldn't have to reveal to the group that she was a youkia... at least for awhile. She'd rather keep that information to herself... even though she knew it might be smarter to bring forth her demon powers now that she was in feudal Japan. It just wasn't so easy to make that change though. She had been raised that way, always being told not to show any of her demonic powers. She had to appear as a human to all others. And to the best of her knowledge she had done that... or she had believed so. Until her home was attacked. For the last five years she could not shake the feeling that the attack had been because of her. What if really had been by some fault of hers that her family and all their servants had been killed?

"Yuune-chan, are you alright?" Sango had dropped back to walk beside the new addition to the group when she noted the woman looked troubled.

Yuune blinked, looking over at the Taijiya. Then she gave the woman a smile, "I'm alright... Just worried about my daughter."

"May I ask what her name is?" was the next question directed to her. Sango was now easily walking beside her, barely paying attention to the rest of the group. She was very curious of the woman who had so unexpectedly showed up with Kagome.

The demon in disguise blinked, having not expected anyone to ask that. Kagome hadn't. Then she smiled, a smile that was somewhat sad. "Rin." _Perhaps I was wrong to feel so wary of Kagome's companions,_ she thought, holding the smile on her lips a moment longer, before it fell. _This demon slayer, at least, seems to be kind hearted. Perhaps this is only because I appear human though. _She couldn't be sure of that however. She seemed friendly enough with Inuyasha... as friendly as one could possibly stand to be with someone like him. Inuyasha was hanyou though... so that could have something to do with it, couldn't it? No... thinking about it that didn't make much sense. Not when the taijiya was so comfortable with the fire Neko who was still sitting on her shoulder. "My father gave her the name, actually." She frowned at that. She could still remember it clearly. Why had her father been so adamant on the girls name... and then insist on having as little to do with her as possible?

Sango took in the woman's expression, a frown momentarily presenting itself on her own face. She quickly straightened her facial features, and refrained from asking any further questions about the strange woman, for the moment. She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts now, so the demon slayer figured silence was the best course. So the two walked next to each other following the rest of the group.

Inuyasha had pulled himself from the ground again. He had intended to come up behind the infernal woman and intimidate her into staying in Kaede's village, still believing she would be nothing but a nuisance. However when he neared her, totally ignoring the fact that Sango was walking with her, he thought he smelt something strange. He had noticed it before, but after Kagome had arrived it had been pushed from his mind. There was something not quite... human, about this woman's scent. This was strange, she seemed human enough to him. Maybe she had come in contact with a demon and the scent still lingered on her. No... that didn't really make much sense. After all, she came from Kagome's time, and from what he had seen of the place... there were no Youkia. Which made the fact that her scent was... sort of off... even more confusing. Maybe he was just too tensed up. This woman had to be human, if she came from Kagome's time.

He glared at her back, before deciding to ignore her. Surely after she discovered how dangerous it was, she would decide it was simply not worth traveling with them. It would be a nuisance, but he would take her to the nearest village as soon as she realized this. At least then he would be rid of her, and not have Kagome yelling that cursed word. Yes, that was probably his best option at the moment..... even though he would be burdened with protecting another useless woman in the meantime. The hanyou bit back a growl, shooting one last growl at the woman, before focusing his attentions on where they were going.

Kagome didn't seem to be picking up on any Shikon shards at the moment. What was more, they didn't have a clue where Naraku could be right now. So basically... though he didn't want to admit it... they were wandering rather aimlessly, hoping to get lucky. Why didn't they go after that disgusting wolf? They already knew he had two jewel shards! Why were they wasting their time with no direction, when it would be more worth it to go after the two jewel shards the wolf had in his legs? This time he could not keep back his annoyed growl, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the ground.

Noriyuune looked back when she heard the low growl coming from the silver haired hanyou. She regarded him curiously, before Sango brought her attention away from him.

"Don't worry about Inuyasha," she said in a whisper, as if that would keep the hanyou from hearing her. "He's always like that. Most of the time he's all bark and no bite."

The demon in disguise looked back at the young woman next to her, though she saw Inuyasha's ears twitch from the corner of her eye. She decided to ignore him. "I can see that," she responded to the woman in the same sort of whisper. She half expected Inuyasha to speak up, seeing as they were pretty much openly insulting him. From what he understood of his character, he wouldn't stand for it.

She wasn't disappointed, as the hanyou jumped in front of the two, glaring at them and holding up his fist menacingly. "All bark and no bit? I'll give you bite!" he barked at them, before he realized the rest of the group had stopped as well.

"Sit"

* * *

"I have no desire to get involved in something that could be a trap for you guys," Noriyuune stated simply, looking after the cloud of poison insects that had taken the jewel shard. The group had been wondering about what to do with her, since they wanted to follow after the insects. "Go ahead without me, I'll follow along at my own pace, and you can find me afterwards." She shrugged, acting as if she was currently in some sort of city park, and not in feudal Japan.

"Maybe someone should stay with you," Sango began. "I don't like the idea of you being by yourself. That group of thieves could come back, or another demon my follow your scent."

Noriyuune laughed, shaking her head. "I'll be fine."

"How are you going to be able to follow after us if you let us go ahead? Their won't be any tracks you can follow," Inuyasha cut in, growling. "I'll take you to the nearest village. You should stay there and not get involved with us anymore."

The disguised woman turned her head in the hanyou's direction, then shook it. "No, thank you, Inuyasha. I'll be quite fine following you on my own. I need no trail to track you buy." Then she looked over to Kagome. "Isn't that right, Kagome-chan?"

Kagome blinked, and then nodded slowly. "Noriyuune should be alright by herself for awhile, and we really have no way to take her with us, without losing track of the poison insects."

Inuyasha blinked, and then growled in annoyance again, "There is no way this woman can take care of herself, and follow behind us!"

"I think she can," Kagome said simply. "We'll lose the trail if we argue about this anymore! Lets go!"

Sango and Miroku looked at Kagome carefully. She said the new woman would be fine, so they would trust her judgment. Kagome wasn't one to leave someone totally defenceless.

"I still think she can't follow our trial! She's a human!"

Shippo looked at everyone, and then at Noriyuune. "I can stay with her. I'll be able to follow Inuyasha's scent," the kitsune said after a moment's thought.

Noriyuune looked at the young demon, and then sighed. "If Shippo-kun stays with me, will you drop this and go on ahead, Inuyasha?" she asked, some annoyance showing in her voice.

Inuyasha spat, "Shippo's nose isn't as strong as mine."

"It should still be enough," Noriyuune stated simply. "Look, the cloud of insects is disappearing. You better hurry."

Inuyasha looked up at the insects, "Damn it all!" Crouching a little he held his hands ready for Kagome to climb on his back. "Hurry up Kagome!"

Kagome rolled her eyes, stepping to Inuyasha as Shippo jumped from her shoulder to stand by Noriyuune.

"Kirira!" Sango turned to the neko, who was standing on the ground beside her. At the sound of her name she shifted to her larger form. The Neko waited for the slayer and the monk to get on, before jumping into the air to pursue the insects. Inuyasha was hot on their tail, leaping with Kagome piggy backing.

Yuune sighed, looking after the group, before her eyes went to the skeleton of the massive bear. _So far this is the most dangerous thing I've seen in this time. It doesn't look like it will be that hard for me to survive here._

Shippo looked up at her, before pulling on her kimono to get her attention. "Um... I'm curious. Why were you so sure you would be fine on your own... and you could follow everyone at your own pace? Do you have spiritual powers like Kagome and Miroku or something?"

Noriyuune looked down at the kit, before laughing. She had to tell him something... something believable. Maybe if she told him to keep a secret she would be able to tell him the truth. She moved over to a tree to sit down. "If you promise not to keep it a secret, I'll tell you, Shippo-Kun. You especially can't tell Inuyasha."

Shippo frowned, looking at her carefully. "I can't even tell Kagome?"

The woman smiled, "Kagome already knows part of it."

The kit blinked, before tilting his head and crossing his arms, thinking carefully on what the woman had said. "alright, I promise I won't tell anyone. Especially not Inuyasha." He grinned, because this would mean he knew something Inuyasha didn't.

"Well you see... Inuyasha thinks that were Kagome comes from, there are no demons. This isn't true. Demons hide themselves because there are those among humans with enough power to eliminate the demon race." She watched how the kit reacted as she spoke. "Hanyou's aren't as despised either. In fact Youkia mating with Ningen is rather commonplace. Thus a large variety of human demon crosses are present, all of whom hide their demon sides to appear as human." She reached up to pull out one of her hair sticks again. "My father was a foreign Daiyoukia, and my mother was a hanyou who also came from another land. I inherited my youkia blood from my mother than human, so I'm more demon than Inuyasha." She grinned at the wide eyes of the child. "Here, I'll show you something small... I don't want to unseal to much of my demon blood, since Inuyasha's nose is so keen it's likely he will smell it."

Shipp watched her with ever wider eyes. His eyes moved to the needle as she pulled on the thick end of the hair piece. It came away from the rest of the wood, a metal needle attached to it. "My mother was a sort of snake hanyou." She said as she finished pulling the needle away from the rest of the hair piece... almost like unsheathing a tiny sword. She opened her mouth running the end of the needle between one of her now apparent fangs. She looked around, spotting a hole that was probably some small animals home. She stuck the needle into the ground near the hole. "I can change the... strength of my venom to suit my needs. Right now It's not strong enough to kill anything, but..." and as she spoke a few animals rushed out of their home. "It will cause enough discomfort for alarm."

Shippo looked at her with even wider eyes. "So you have a good sense of smell too?" That would explain why she said she could follow on her own, and why she was sure she would be fine. He saw her nod, "I see.... I didn't really need to stay then."

"I would have to unseal more of my demon blood to use my sense of smell to follow Inuyasha," The woman said simply. She pulled the needle out of the ground and cleaned it off, before slipping it back into the wood. She placed the hair stick back in her hair, smiling at the young demon. "You staying behind works out better for me. I am a little surprised though, that you are not afraid of me."

Shippo smiled, "You're a lot nicer than Inuyasha, and Kagome trusts you." The kit said simply. He would have to use his nose after all though, seeing as Noriyuune preferred to keep her demon blood sealed. "We should start after everyone now," he said, beginning to sniff the air. He stopped, rigid. Then he slowly turned towards the trees behind Noriyuune.

Yuune frowned, what was startling the kit. "Shippo-kun?" The kit ran forward jumping towards her, and she instinctually wrapped her arms around him. He looked over her shoulder apprehensively. "Whats wrong?" she asked, before noting where he was looking. She turned towards the spot, eyes narrowed. "Who's there?"

"A demon."

The voice was clearly male, and held a barely recognizable hiss to it.


	6. Her Servant

**One is All it Takes**

**Disclaimer:** nope, don't own Inuyasha.

A/N: hey, sorry for the wait on this chapter. Had a little bit of writers block.

If you have any questions about some of the Japanese terms I used let me now and I'll include definitions from now on. I feel most are pretty well known, and the rest are easy to find, so I didn't include definations this time.

Enjoy!

_**One is All it Takes**_

_Her Servant:_

"Who's there?"

"A demon."

The voice was clearly male and held a barely recognizable hiss to it. The corner of her mouth twitched, and she marginally relaxed. She could feel the kitsune shaking in her arms, so she gently rubbed his back to help sooth him. It was possible she was wrong, but she was fairly certain that was not the case. "Alder?" she murmured, the question barely present in her tone. While at first glance she appeared quite at ease, her fingers twitched occasionally. Her eyes were also narrowed, and she was already prepared to pull up her true self should there be the need to defend herself and the kit she held. Until she was sure of the demon's identity, she had too be ready. Her lips remained slightly parted, some venom dripping from the hollowed fangs that had formed once more, mixing with her saliva.

"Madam," the hissing voice came again, and she could clearly pick out the familiar tone of it now. There was a rustling of leaves, before the sharp face of her servant, and loyal friend, came into view. He wasn't bothering to hid his demon features and was now dressed in a dark green Kimono, dark brown Uminori Hakama, and a green Haori. She could also see the hilts if a Katana and a Wakizashi. Where he had gotten them… she hadn't the slightest clue. His hair, which she was sure had once been red, was a faded orange-ish blond now, speckled with grey. It had been pulled back into a high ponytail, though it still hung several inches past his shoulders. The style revealed his pointed ears, each of them tipped brown. Below each of his eyes were brown markings, accentuating the tip of his cheekbones. His eyes were what really made her thing demon, though. They were a vibrant… almost synthetic green, with narrowed pupils that clearly resembled those of a snake. The slitted pupils were lined with a brownish gold, which she knew must come from his Kitsune blood. Then there was, of course, his tail, which was pratically the same shade as his hair, without the grey. It was longer than that of any fox she had ever seen in the wild, and it was not as bushy either. Very different from the tail that Shippo had, which she thought was simply adorable. Alder's tail was no such thing, rather it looked powerful, and it a strange way it somehow reminded her of a snake. Probably because of the way he had coiled it around the sheaths of his two weapons.

Admittedly it was her first time seeing him in his true _humanoid_ demonic form. But there were other things she dhould be doing, rather than taking in his altered appearance. "Alder… why did you follow me?" she asked him softly, though there was a slightly annoyed edge to her voice. She stopped rubbing soothing circles on Shippo's back, as she felt him relax slowly. He remained with his face buried in the shoulder of her kimono for awhile before slowly turning himself about to get a better look at whoever had appeared. His expression was still a wary one, she noted when she glanced down at him. However, it seemed he would trust her.

"It's my duty to serve you, Rezei-sama," the male demon said simply. "I took care of your remaining business as instructed, and then followed your scent to the dry well. I could not leave you to accomplish your goal on your own." As he spoke his eyes moved to the kit his lady was holding. One of his faded red eyebrows raised in question, but for the moment he remained silent on the matter. He was sure he'd find out who this kit was shortly. "And, Madam forgot to bring the proper currency," he went on, turning his eyes back to the woman he was pledged to serve. He reached back into the bushes and pulled out a of his own. Holding it up, he shook it lightly so the clink of coins could be faintly heard. His lips had formed into a crocked upward line, signifying his slight amusement at his lady's forgetfulness.

Noriyuune stared at the bag for several long minutes, before she laughed. Of _course_ she had forgot to bring money. It had, after all, been a spur of the moment decision to go with Kagome in the morning. But now she had a problem. Alder was a full demon, and no matter how much he suppressed this, Inuyasha would still smell it off of him. She needed to come up with some sort of solution for this… but she didn't have any ideas. Taking her eyes of her long time servant a friend she looked in the direction the others had went with a sigh. The kit in her arms was temporarily forgotten as she racked her brains for anything that could solve this new issue. She kept drawing a blank, and after several long moments she turned her gaze back onto her servant. "I appreciate your concern and loyalty, Alder," she started softly. "But… there is a Hanyou in Kagome-chan's group. He'll be even more suspicious of me with you around… I don't want him to know of my own youkia heritage yet."

Shippo had been watching the interaction between Yuune and the demon who was apparently her servant. It was easy for him to see this youkia was part Kitsune. He couldn't help but be curious. Looking up at the woman who's arms he still sat in, he could see a troubled look in her eyes. He wondered on it, and probably would have asked about it, if she had not brought the reason for it up herself. Looking back at Alder he watched the demon frown thoughtfully. Silence stretched out for longer than the kit could bare. Finally he jumped from Noriyuune's arms, causing the woman to gasp softly in surprise. He looked up at the two of them, an idea of his own forming. "Maybe I can help," he said at last.

The woman blinked, and then laughed, a small smile forming on her lips. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well… your friend isn't wearing odd clothes like Kagome. He could easily pass as a demon from around here. I could tell Inuyasha that he was a friend of my parents," he grimaced slightly when he mentioned his parents, but went on anyway. "and that we came across him while following their trail."

Yuune blinked again, a little surprised. She looked up at Alder, who still had a thoughtful expression on his face. Finally he nodded. "It seems like a sound plan, Rezei-sama." He was silent again for awhile, before he chuckled softly. "I do believe I will need to know your little companion's name, for it to work."

Shippo looked up at him with his own smile. "It's Shippo," he announced, taking a step closer to the man. "You might not want to call Yuune-chan, 'Rezei-sama' though."

This caused both of the older demon to frown. Noriyuune looked up at her servant slowly. "He's right… Noriyuune is fine."

Alder shook his head. "I could not refer to you by first name alone, Madam. Though I realize the sense in not referring to you as my master."

She sighed, shaking her head slightly. "Then what do you purpose you call me? Don't you realize that the vast majority Youkia from this time would never refer to a _ningen_ with any respect?" she placed both her hands on her hips, cocking her head slightly to one side. "If you won't call me Noriyuune… then call me Yuune. You didn't have a problem with that when we were trying to keep my identity secret while traveling. This is the same thing isn't it?"

The demon's eyes widened slightly as he looked down at the woman in front of him. Then he sighed, and nodded his head in agreement. "I understand, Rezei-sama." She kept her eyes fixed on him, a frown of disapproval on her face. She sighed again, before correcting himself. "Very well, _Yuune_."

She smiled, and gave a satisfactory nod. "Much better. Now…" She looked down at the kit. "What are you going to call Alder?"

The kit sun blinked, and looked back up at the youkia. He held one hand up to the side of his face, his other cupping his elbow. "Do you mind if I call you Oji-san?" he asked after a moment of thought.

Alder smiled, crouching down so he was closer to Shippo's eyelevel. "That's fine, Shippo." he remained were he was, choosing his next words carefully. "Shippo… may I ask about your parents?" He would need the knowledge in order to convince the hanyou that he was a friend to Shippo's family.

Shippo's smile fell from his face, and he looked down at his feet. "They're dead," he mumbled.

Both Yuune and Alder looked at him in mild surprise. Alder was the first to recover from it. He reached out and gently patted the young Kitsune on the head. "I'm sorry if I have upset you," he said softly, most of the hiss in his voice gone.

Shippo shook his head, smiling up at both of them. "It's okay," he assured them. Then he looked off in the direction the others had gone. He moved that way, sniffing at the air. Then he turned back to the two adults. "We should get going. Inuyasha's scent is starting to fade already."

Noriyuune nodded, and the Kit moved off to follow the scent. She trailed after him, with Alder a step or so behind her, and slightly to her right. She could feel the tension coming off of her long time servant in waves. He was probably scanning their surroundings with all of his senses, looking for any possible threat to her. She wanted to stop and tell him to relax, but she knew it was probably a good idea to be ready for some sort of threat.

They were all silent for some time. Finally Alder moved to walk directly beside Noriyuune. "Why where you two left behind, Rezei-sa…. Yuune." He had to correct himself quickly when she shot him a rather withering glance.

"I didn't want to get involved in the rather personal conflict between Kagome-chan's group, and someone by the name of Naraku," she answered him simply. "and Inuyasha doesn't think I should be traveling with them anyway. I needed to get away from the annoying half-breed." He nodded wordlessly and dropped back a couple steps once more. Silence fell of the small group again, and so it remained until both males caught the scent of blood.

Shippo came to a stop, but Alder was the first to speak. "There is the strong scent of blood up ahead. I believe a battle is still going on. It would be unwise for us to proceeded, Yuune."

Noriyuune frowned, taking his words into account. Shippo had made his way over to her, and she stooped down to pick him up. "I think I saw a building not to far back. Why don't we go there and wait?" Alder nodded his agreement, and she set off back the way they came, scanning the area for the building she had spotted. It didn't take long for her to find it, and she made her way to it as soon as she spotted it. She took note that the Kitsune in her arms was tense, but she didn't think much about it.

Shippo was, of course, worried about Kagome and the others. When Noriyuune and Alder came to a stop, he jumped out of her arms, looking back towards the smell of blood. "Inuyasha might not catch our scent," he said at last. "I'm going to go on ahead and tell everyone." He looked very briefly up at the woman, before he started off.

"Shippo-kun!" Yuune called after him, taking a few steps in his direction.

He looked over his shoulder and called back to her without really slowing down. "I'll be okay!" Then he disappeared out of her line of sight.

She made to follow after him, worried about his safety, but she was stopped by a firm hand on her shoulder. She turned to glare at her servant, he just stood there and accepted the angry gaze. He shook his head after a moment, and turned to the shack. She watched him as he took a seat by the door. Finally she sighed, glancing once more after the kit, before she mumbled about getting some rest, and moved inside.

* * *

Shippo made his way towards the scent of blood as fast as he could. He recognized the scent of Kouga as homed on the gory smell. Why was Kouga there? He didn't have much time to ponder on this, as soon a shiro came into view. He quickened his pace, but before he was to close to the walls to see anything, he thought he saw one of Kagome's sacred arrows being fired. The kit rushed to the gate of the shiro, which he assumed Inuyasha had broken down, as wood splinters were everywhere around it. He was startled by what was within.

Many okami youkia lay dead about the shiro. Kouga himself was on his knees, and it appeared he could not move. He couldn't spot Kagome, but Inuyasha was staring down a woman he did not recognize… aside from the overwhelming stench of Naraku that clung to her. Inuyasha must have seen the windscar, as he swung Tessaiga, yelling "die!" at the woman. Shippo stopped where he was, watching the woman's frame be engulfed by the golden yellow attack. However moments later she was above the blast, and then gone.

Not long after the Shiro started to disintegrate. Shippo looked around in confusion, soon spotting Kagome astride Kirara. "Kagome!" he called.

Kagome turned her eyes from the slowly disappearing shippo towards the sound of her name. She blinked in surprise to see the kitsune down below, near were the shiro's gate had been. "Shippo-chan!" She looked around the kit, but saw no sign of Noriyuune. "Where's Yuune-chan?" She asked him as Kirara started to descend towards him. As the neko touched down, Sango and Miroku made there way over to Inuyasha.

Shippo glanced towards the Hanyou, monk, and demon slayer momentarily, before he turned his eyes back to Kagome. "She's waiting for us in a shack not to far from here. A friend of my parents is with her."

"Friend of your parents?" Kagome questioned, still frowning. "What's his name?"

"Alder," the kitsune responded. He saw recognition on her face, but she quickly hid it. She gave him a knowing look, and a barely perceptible nod. "What happened here?" He asked her, looking around again. "Whats wrong with Kouga?"

"Kouga!" Kagome exclaimed. She'd forgotten about him. "Kouga was tricked into thinking Inuyasha had killed the wolf demons." She explained while Shippo jumped to join her on Kirara. "He was given a counterfeit jewel shard that's poisoned him. I'll tell you everything later." Shippo nodded, and Kirara took to the air again, landing by Kouga. "Kouga, are you alright?" she asked him, the concern clearly showing through in her voice.

"His skin is changing color!" Shippo exclaimed, jumping off of Kirara's back. "The poison must be spreading." He stared at the purple skin that had spread up Kouga's arm nearly to his elbow.

"We've gotta do something, or He'll die," Kagome had to resist the urge to bite her lip. She reached out towards the twisted glow of the counterfeit shard, hoping she could remove it. However before her fingers could touch the discoloured skin, her hand was repelled by a barrier. She snatched it back, her finger tips tingling in a rather unpleasant fashion.

"You can't touch him, the barrier is to strong," shippo observed, looking briefly at Kagome, before back at the injured okami youkia.

"We have to do something!" Kagome insisted, still cradling her hand.

Kouga's body continued to tremble from the poison, but he managed to look up at Kagome. "Let me die," he mumbled weakly, "I tried to murder Inuyasha."

Kagome felt anger rise within her, though it was not directed at the youkia in front of her. "It wasn't your fault," she stated firmly. "Naraku tricked you, Kouga." She leaned a little closer to his shaking frame. "Inuyasha had no desire to settle things this way."

Inuyasha had been watching from were he stood with Miroku and Sango. He had had enough listen, and made his way over towards Kagome and the three demons with her. Kagome noticed him coming when she glanced up in his direction. She spoke his name, but his attention was on the dying wolf. He stopped by him, still holding his sword in his left arm, since his right had been rendered useless. "It seems we were both deceived by Naraku. If you can hang on to life, there is a way to save you," the hanyou stated, all his attention on Kouga. He moved his sword so it was in front of his frame, though he did not raise it yet. "Hold out your arm," he brought the tessaiga up over his head, "I will cut it, and the counterfeit jewel off."

"No!" came the immediate protest of Kagome. "There has to be another way. Don't just hack his arm off, Inuyasha!"

"Wait a minute," shippo piped up again, glancing up at Kagome. Both Inuyasha and Kagome looked down at him. "What about your Sacred arrow, Kagome? Maybe it can break the barrier."

"I'll give it a shot," the teen nodded, pulling out one of her arrows from her quiver. She took the shaft into both her hands, and aimed it down at the dark glow of the shard in Kouga's arm. After a moment of hesitation, she drove the arrow head down towards his arm. It never touched the skin, coming in contact with the barrier instead. As Shippo had suggested, the arrow broke the barrier, and the poison shard rose out of the discoloured skin, before it was purified completely. With it gone, the skin of Kouga's arm slowly took on it's natural shade. Kagome sighed in relief, before getting to her feet.

Inuyasha had been looking around, but he failed to catch the scent of that woman. He looked down at Shippo as their other two companions made their way over. "Hey, brat, where's that woman? Did you get chased by demons and leave her to fend for herself or something?"

Shippo glared up at Inuyasha. "No I didn't!" he declared angrily, flailing his fists in the air as he jumped up several times. "She's with a youkia who was really good friends with my parents. She didn't want to continue here when we smelled blood. They're waiting in a shack not to far from here."

"Your parent's friend?" Inuyasha asked skeptically. Shippo just nodded. "And he's a youkia?" the hanyou went on to ask. Once more Shippo nodded. "And you left a human with him? Are you sure he can be trusted!"

"Yes. I. Am!" Shippo shouted at him, once more jumping into the air and flailing his fists in frustration. "He was a really close friend of the family!"

"Fine," Inuyasha muttered, letting the matter drop when Kagome glared at him pointedly. He turned, just missing the meaningful look Miroku and Sango shared. "In any case, we don't have time to wait around here. Where's this shack, Shippo? I need to get that blasted woman to a village and out of our hair."

"No you don't," Kagome stated, pushing herself up to her feet. She glanced down at Kouga who was simply looking straight ahead of him. She sighed, before stepping up to Inuyasha. "I'm telling you, she's going to be traveling with us for as long as she want's to! You won't be carting her off to some village!"

Inuyasha was about to retaliate, but Miroku placed a hand on his shoulder. "There's no point in worrying about that now. Lets go to this shack, and rest for the night," he stated, glancing up at the darkening sky.

Inuyasha mumbled a fine, as shippo set off towards where he had left Noriyuune and Alder. It didn't take him long to catch sight of it, and he stopped, pointing it out to the others. Kirara had moved to walk beside Inuyasha, as it was pretty obvious the stubborn Hanyou was in pain.

Alder looked up as the group arrived within view. He got to his feet, his eyes quickly finding the kit. "Shippo," he greeted simply. He didn't fail to note that Inuyasha was glaring at him. Inuyasha turned to the others, moving away from the shack again. The others in the group looked at eachother, and then sighed, following after him. The hebi-kitsune youkia could only assume that Inuyasha wished to have a discussion with the others without him or his master. He shrugged, and leaned back against the wall, ignoring the words that the group was sharing.

Kirara was soon laying on the ground, Inuyasha using her as a pillow. The hanyou was fast asleep. The others spoke for a moment more, before Miroku turned towards Alder.

"You were a friend of Shippo's parents?" he asked the demon, moving towards him.

Alder looked towards the monk, and then nodded slowly. "Yes," he didn't say anything else on the matter though. Instead he turned his eyes to shippo, who was now perched on Miroku's shoulder. "Your companion is inside resting."

Shippo blinked, and then jumped from Miroku's shoulder to look inside. "Wow… she's fast asleep," he mused, when he poked his head within.

"I guess we will be staying here for the night then," the demon slayer murmured. She yawned, and headed inside herself. "Might as well get some rest."

"Agreed," Kagome followed her friends lead. She stopped by the entrance however. "Ah… I'm Kagome. It's nice to meet you…."

"Alder." the two Kitsune demons announced together.

"Alder?" Sango poked her head back out from inside. "That's a strange name. Is it foreign?"

"Yes," Alder replied. "I'm not from Japan originally."

"You speak japanese very well… where did you come from, Alder?"

"A place called America."

"America?"


	7. Suspicion

One is All it Takes

**Disclaimer:** still don't own Inuyasha.

A/N: I am terribly sorry for the horribly long wait. I've had so much to do with college, and then working nights during the summer, I had barely any time for writing, so I've been picking at this for a long while to get it done. Here is, at last, the sixth chapter. The events of this chapter take place through episode 41 and 42. I hope you enjoy this long awaited chapter.

And I think You'll be happy to know that I'm half way through the next chapter now, and it should be up within a week.

* * *

_**One is All it Takes**_

_Suspicion:_

So Alder was from America… Kagome was a little surprised. She wondered how old he was… and how long he had been in Japan. He didn't have an accent … not one that she could pick out anyway. Although… now that she thought about it, she thought there was a sort of hissing quality to his speech. She wondered what it was… but she didn't want to ask with everyone paying him so much attention at the moment. She could be imagining it to.

"Where's America?" Sango asked after a few moments of silence. "I've never heard of it before."

Alder smiled at her from where he remained leaning against the wall. "It's kind of hard to explain where it is… I don't really remember it anyway. I've been in Japan for several hundred years already… and to be honest, I was barely able to walk when I came here. It's hard to get to from here, as far as I remember anyway. I was practically dead when I arrived here." He looked towards Shippo briefly, before he continued. "I came here with my two half sisters… the older of whom was Shippo's grandmother, actually."

This time everyone looked at him in surprise, except Shippo who was doing his best to keep his surprise to himself. "Shippo's grandmother was your half sister?" Miroku asked, and then looked to the young kit for clarification.

"Yeah, I never met her though," Shippo managed to force out.

"You have two half sisters?" Sango asked next, frowning to herself.

"Yes. I'm half Kitsune, half Hebi you see. My half sisters were both older than myself…. I was sort of… a mistake you could say," Alder explained simply.

"And that's why they came to Japan," Shippo piped up, and Alder smiled at him. This reassured Shippo that he wasn't screwing something up by speaking when he did, so he went on. "Father told me about it once. He said his mother had come with Oji-san because his parents had almost killed him."

"Shippo's grandfather found use after we got here, and helped the three of us recover from the journey," Alder continued the story. "My other sister left Japan seventy years ago."

Sango was silent for a time, looking away from the demon. "Why did your parents try to kill you?" she asked after awhile, though she didn't look back at him.

"Because they thought my existence was disgusting," Alder told her bluntly. "They hated the fact that I was half Kitsune, half Hebi."

A look of disgust crossed the demon slayers face. "For such a stupid reason they tried to kill you? What happened to them after that?"

Alder's face darkened considerably. "They were killed by their mates." He pushed away from the wall then as everyone looked down a little shocked. "Good night," he called to them as he moved away from the run down building, officially ending the conversation.

"Shippo… did you know Alder's parents were dead?" Sango asked after the awkward silence became too much. Shippo shook his head, and Sango nodded at that. She turned and disappeared back inside, ready for some rest. Kagome remained standing where she was for a few minutes, before she also slipped inside, Shippo following after her. Miroku leaned against the wall of the building like Alder had been doing before the demon had left. It wasn't long before everyone was asleep.

* * *

Noriyunne woke not long before the sun broke over the horizon. Everyone else was asleep. At least… she thought everyone else was asleep. Carefully she got up, and made her way out of the building, being sure not to wake Kagome or Sango. She, for whatever reason, didn't want any of them to see her leaving with Alder… though undoubtedly once they found both of them gone they would assume that she had. Of course, Kagome would come to the conclusion they would be back with the group for the night, since she was leaving her pack with them.

She certainly didn't expect them to stay where they were though…. It would be easy enough for Alder to find them. It wasn't like they were going to be traveling quickly, or very far during the day. She just wanted to get started on searching for clues. It could be a better idea to just leave the group altogether, but she didn't really have idea of where to start looking. She'd get nowhere if she didn't start somewhere. If she was traveling with them then at least she would be moving, rather than staying in one place wondering what the hell she should do. So she crept out of the building and passed Miroku, who was leaning against the outside. He seemed to be asleep, so she ignored him.

Quickly she scanned the area for Inuyasha, and found him in a tree… also appearing to be asleep. She nodded to herself, before looking around again for Alder. He was standing just within her sight, half hidden behind a tree trunk he was leaning against. Waiting for her, she realized. She smiled wryly, make her way over to him. She opened her mouth to ask him which way they were headed, as she was sure he'd done some looking around last night. He raised his hand and pointed before she could speak.

Her eyes followed the direction he'd pointed in, and then she nodded for him to lead the way. Alder stood straight, and was about to lead her away, but stopped, turning instead to look at the awake Inuyasha… and then the Monk who had gotten to his feet. Inuyasha was scowling at them both. The monk was making his way over to him. Noriyunne bit back an aggravated sigh. This was what she'd wanted to avoid. Her eyes moved to the monk… waiting for him to speak.

"Will you be joining up with us later?"

The question admittedly startled her. She'd been expecting to be asked where they were going… what they were doing. She'd also expected it to be _Inuyasha_ to speak first. But the hanyou was remaining silent, and still scowling at them she confirmed with a quick glance. She turned back to the monk, thinking about her answer carefully. "Yes. You don't have to wait for us. I'm sure Alder can find you well enough this evening," she stated truthfully after considering her options.

The monk nodded, apparently satisfied with that response. "Be careful," he cautioned them simply, before he returned to his former spot, sitting down by the building and leaning back against it. Inuyasha was, of course, still scowling at them. She rolled her eyes at this, turning away from the group again and following Alder's lead . Once they were out of sight of both monk and hanyou they stopped briefly.

She wondered for a moment at why Alder had halted, but then she saw his face elongating into a muzzle. Oh. Well that made sense then. It would be much quicker for them to travel the uninhabited area with him in his demon form. She watched in mild fascination as his shape changed, and soon he stood before her in his true form. He was…. Breathtaking, really.

Though his fur had faded to a dull grey orange, he still looked powerful. Patches of scales decorated his body here and there, most notable on his face, legs, and the base of his over long tail. He wasn't huge… but he was certainly a formidable sight. Bigger than any horse. His vibrant green eyes turned on her, and for the briefest moment she felt fear building in her gut. The moment passed quickly though, as she remembered this was her dearest friend…. And he pulled up his lips in what could only be a grin. Then he lowered his frame so she could climb onto his back.

Once she was comfortably seated, he was off. The speed momentarily surprised her. Then she began to miss her own true form… She'd not taken it for many long years. It was too risky in her own time… and now it was too risky here if she wanted the others in the group to remain oblivious of her heritage. As she thought about this however… she realized it would be foolish of her to keep her blood hidden for long. It put her at a distinct disadvantage in this time. Still… she wanted to keep it hidden as long as she could. She wasn't sure how they would react to it. She was only sure that Inuyasha wouldn't dislike her any less… he might in fact dislike her more. Of course she didn't think they would try to kill her if they knew. If they did have a negative response though, she could leave the group at that time.

If… She really hated that word. Too much uncertainty…. To many possibilities. She just wanted to be _sure _of something again. It had been so long since she'd be really sure of anything. Its difficult to be sure of anything when your world has been turned upside down. She found herself often wishing (as many of us do occasionally) that she could go back to the carefree days of her childhood. Yet… if that were possible, she knew she could never do so. Her desire to find her daughter again was simply to strong… she couldn't simply abandon that cause. Not for anything.

And so her morning progressed with her deep in thought, riding upon her servants back. She barely registered the land around her, or when he would turn seemingly off course in order to skirt inhabited areas. She gotten so used to the movement, she was startled when he came to a stop. So startled she almost fell off. Clutching at a handful of his fur, she managed to stay seated. Then she looked around. They'd come right up to a village.

For a moment she started to panic… until her weaker human sense of smell caught the musk of death. She gagged. "This place reks of stale death," Yuune mumbled, covering her noes with her kimono sleeve. She was as human as she could make herself… and yet the stench was still rather overwhelming. She could only assume the entire village had been massacred. "Why did we come here?"

She of course didn't receive a verbal answer, aside from a rumbling she felt as well as heard. Alder lowered his frame so she could slide from his back, and once she was standing safely a few feet away, he quickly reverted to his humanoid form. He still did not provide her the answer she sought. Instead he only gestured her to follow with a soft "Come," she couldn't help but notice the strain in his voice. The stench of this place must be horrible for him. He led her into the village, and she apprehensively looked around, still covering her mouth and nose.

The smell of decay told her this must have a week or more ago. So forms had not been buried, as other had… and passing a horribly maimed and decayed one made her want to run back out of the village."Wolves?" she asked her servant weakly in an attempt to distract herself from her growing unease.

"Not just any wolves," Alder amended, "A pack of Ookami youkia." The women bit her bottome lip. This did nothing at all to ease her distress. If Rin had been here recently enough for some of her scent to be caught by Alder through this death musk…. He lead her down by a river and up to a tiny little shack that she thought was rather dilapidated looking. "Here," he told told her softly, bringing her right into the sad structure. "I know the smell of this place is overwhelming, but you need to open your senses."

She looked at him nervously, but set her jaw firmly and closed her eyes. Tentatively she reached into herself and re-awoke her demoness side, slowly. She didn't want to be overpowered by the heightening of her senses. Even so, as the smells of death grew stronger she couldn't help but gag again. She nearly succumbed to the desire to force her youkia self down again, but then she caught a scent that was ever so slightly familiar. She couldn't be sure… but she couldn't help feel a little excited. She honed in on the faint smell, pushing the other scents out of her mind as much as she could.

"What do you think?" she heard her companion ask her softly, just as she fixed her senses on the smell.

"It's so faint… but…. But it really smells like her," Noriyuune murmured.

He nodes as she opened her eyes to look at him "It's hard to tell when the girl was last here. If she was among the dead of this village, I would have found her when I surveyed the area." She was looking at him sharply now. He continued "All I can tell is she linved in this tructure for a long while… long enough for her scent to sink into the wood. That scent is almost gone. She's been gone her for at least a week, Likely longer…. I believe there is a good chance she left this village alive."

She sighed softly, closing her eyes once more to pull her youkia self back down into the deepest part of her. The sensation of folding into herself was now more disturbing than it had ever been before. It felt… somehow even more unnatural here in feudal Japan, than it did in the future. She shuddered. She didn't like it. As soon as her new companions found out of her demon blood, she decided she would not bother to suppress it again. When the awkward feeling of folding in on herself ceased and she was left with her frail mortal body, she opened her eyes just briefly to glance at Alder. He looked concerned. "Thank you," she murmured softly, to ease some of his concern. She was very much aware he was trying to put her at ease with his words. She knew there was a very high chance her daughter was dead. The scent might not even belong to her precious Rin at all. To many ifs… to many uncertainties.

She quickly turned away from the hut and began to work her way out of the village. Alder followed after her silently. "You are sure you can't find a trail of her around her somewhere?"

He nodded, though she couldn't see it. "Yes, Madam," it was strange to hear him revert back to his modern address of her. She'd already gotten quite used to him using the more traditional manner to address her, when they were not with Kagome and her traveling companions. "I circled the village. There was no trace of that scent anywhere else."

She sighed again, nodding to acknowledge his words. "Alright… lest find Kagome-chan and the rest… we aren't likely to find anything else today."

"Agreed," the full demon stated and then halted as they reached the edge of the village. She glanced at him, but she was not fascinated by his transformation as she was this morning, and soon let her eyes wander. When she looked back he had fully changed, and was now crouching low for her to climb onto his back. She did so, and once more they were off. Just as before he avoid villages, making the trip quite a bit longer… but she was to lost in thoughts of her daughter now to really notice. Could the girl really be alive. Did she dare hope?

They headed first back towards the camp of last night, but as soon as Alder caught Kagome's trail, he altered their root accordingly. As they sky began to dim he finally came to a stop and lowered his frame once more for her to disembark. She did so without a word, and waited for him to resume his humanoid from. He did so quickly. "We will have to continue on foot from here… it may take us another hour to arrive at the village they are in. I believe they intend to spend the night there, so there is no worry that they will leave without us." She did not respond to him, other than to gesture him to take the lead. He did so, and they walked through the short evening, and into the young night.

The village soon came into sight after that… and Alder came to a halt, putting out an arm to signal she should stay behind him. He tensed, and his eyes darted about for several minutes, before he relaxed marginally. She dared not speak. Finally he turned to her, thought his hand now rested on the hilt of his Katana, ready to pull it from its sheath. "They haven't noticed us yet… we shouldn't proceed any nearer or they will."

"Who will?" she asked questioningly. What had him soon edge?

"The people of this village are attacking our companions. I don't know why, but their movements sound… mechanical. As if they are being controlled. If we get closer, I think they will also attack us."

She frowned and moved to stand just in front of him, brown eyes scanning the village. She could just make some of it out then…Inuyasha and Miroku trying to fend off the figures of stiffly moving men, without killing them. "Where is Kagome-chan and the others?" She glanced at him as he raised his hand and followed the line of his pointing finger to a building.

"The elder's house?" She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye. Then she looked around the surroundings again. "I think I can get there without being noticed… I want to know what is going on. You should stay here, you'd definitely be detected. If we haven't already been discovered." She turned to him… he was scowling. He didn't like the idea at all, that much was obvious. "I want you to keep an eye on things out here… help them if they need help. I'll be alright Alder." He didn't look convinced in the slightest. She rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. "I am the daughter of a great demon. His blood courses strongly in my veins. It doesn't slumber now. If I need it, I will not hesitate to call on it. I promise."

When he sighed she turned and began to skirt slowly around the fighting in an attempt to reach the back of the house. As she got nearer she slowed… it wouldn't be easy. There was a substantial number of men near the house, though they were moving towards the two men and the Neko. She stopped, turning to look back at what was going on. She turned in time to catch sight of Kagura. Though she couldn't hear what this new demoness was saying, she could tell by the reaction of the two males that she was somehow responsible for the villagers attacking. She also noticed when Miroku started to run in her direction. Heading for the house. Trouble with Kagome-chan and Sango-chan? Must be.

She decided to retreat slightly and let the monk proceed her. As the Neko knocked down most of the villagers in his way, he made it to the building quickly. She was just as quick to follow after him before the village men could rise again. She found him embracing a girl of perhaps fourteen or fifteen. She wanted to gag. "I'm going on ahead," she half hissed as she hurried past him. She stopped when she saw the flash of metal just before turning into the hall. She turned and was about to move to stop this girl from stabbing the perverted monk, but he seemed to have noticed it, and quickly knocked the girl out. Noriyuune rolled her eyes and turned into the hall without a word. A few seconds after she heard the monk following after her. She navigated through the home, peeking cautiously into rooms as she went.

She caught site of an elderly form out cold on the floor, and then another one. She halted just inside the room, with Miroku just behind her, eyes taking in the scene quickly. Sango was unconscious, Kagome was pointing an arrow at a white child. Her eyes went to this child. All white… it was somehow familiar. Could she be… resisting the urge to bite her lip, she unsealed some of her blood so she could pick up the scents in the room. Nothing came from the girl. Her eyes widened. Quickly, aware that Miroku was behind her, she sealed away her youkia blood once more. Though he was looking at her curiously, she knew her appearance had not changed noticeably, so he could not prove anything, even if he suspected it.

The white child turned and faded from sight. She remained tense for a few moments after, until she heard Shippo-kun's voice, speaking about the white demon. She turned. "Kagome-chan's soul?" then she looked back to the teen, who looked rather week and distant. She was barely keeping her head off the ground now. Her eyes moved from her to the slayer. "Shippo-kun, what happened to Sango-chan?" she asked after a moment.

"The white demon's evil mirror reflected her weapon right back at her," shippo explained. This caused the demoness to frown, before she moved to the Hiraikotsu, taking a hold of the strap. She gave it a measuring yank, gauging the weight of the weapon, before easily pulling it out of the floor and situating it on her back. "This is a little heavier than I thought it would be," she murmured, before turning to the monk who was looking at her curiously now. "We should try and warn Inuyasha, I would think. And I doubt it's a good idea to leave Kagome-chan and Sango-chan here. Alder is outside… they'd be safer with him, I'd think."

"Right," Miroku mumbled, moving quickly to situate Sango on Kirara's back, before he proceeded to Kagome. After a minute they managed to get Kagome on his back, and proceeded out of the house. Yuune regarded the girl who Miroku had knocked out earlier, and then looked briefly at the monk. Taking in his expression she let out a sigh and moved to the girl. Lifting her up, she placed her on Kirara's back as well. They proceeded outside, and in the direction of Inuyasha. They'd just come to the top of a hill, now able to see the fight between the Hanyou and Kagura. Alder slipped silently to Noriyuune's side.

She glanced up at him, before she lowered the heavy weapon that she'd been carrying to the ground, and turned her eyes back to the battle. "Inuyasha is wielding his sword," Shippo stated, "He'll try and cut through the windscar."

"We have to stop him," the monk added. "If Sango's weapon was flung back at her, than the windscar will rebound on Inuyasha."

"It's already too late," Alder observed simply. "He's swung." And they could see that. Inuyasha had swung his blade and the yellow light shot out of it. Alder didn't seem surprised, but Yuune was a little taken aback. She'd never seen something like this before. Although she'd felt much stronger Youki than what Inuyasha had… she'd never seen powerful attacks unleashed… aside from those using holy powers. She took in a sharp breath, and then exhaled slowly.

Kagaru swung her fan and the wind pushed her around, revealing the white demon child, holding her mirror in front of her. The windscar rushed towards the void demon, and was reflected back at Inuyasha. She took a half step forward, and stopped. There was no way she could reach the hanyou in time to pull him away from the attack, and avoid being hit herself. She couldn't help but turn her eyes away as Inuyasha was struck. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and did not have to look to know it was Alder's.

Even with her youkia side suppressed, there was no way she couldn't have felt the jyaki that entered the area in a dark swirl. And out of it came a man with dark hair, unbound, and what appeared to be a white baboon pelt covering the lower portion of his frame. She could only assume that this was Naruku. The fact that Miroku quickly left them to go to Inuyasha's side confirmed this. She was curious as to why the monk took the rosary from around his right arm, but she decided to ignore the matter and see to the unconscious girls instead. She'd only get involved in the more than probable fight should she be attacked herself.

Yuune glanced briefly at Kagome, before she moved to Kirara, and gently shifted Sango-chan and the other female from the neko's back to the ground. While she did this, Naraku and Miroku seemed to share a few words, and then Miroku had wrapped the beads back around his arm. A few more words went between the two, and Miroku seemed rather shocked at something. She looked over to Kagome again, to find the teen having moved to Kirara. She seemed to want to get on her back.

"Kagome-chan, you shouldn't move," she said softly, moving to the girls side.

"But I have to get to Inuyasha," the young, untrained miko replied. Yuune frowned, but noting the determination on the weakened females face, she let out a sigh. Carefully she helped Kagome onto the neko's back, and watched as the two took to the air.

"This seems complicated," Alder mused, know seated between the two unconscious women, with his weapons sitting across his knees.

She looked at him, and moved to sit beside him. "It certainly does."

"You don't want to assist them?"

"It seems a personal conflict to me. I'd rather not get involved unless it looks like they'll die if we don't do something." Yuune shrugged, her eyes on Kagome. They then moved to Kagura, as the wind sorceress sent an attack at Miroku and inuyasha. Miroku tried to block the blades of wind, but he was flung back. She was about to get to her feet, when she saw Kagome's arrow. The demoness relaxed.

"You don't think they need our assistance now? From what I gather, their attacks will be reflected back at them."

"And so would ours," She stated simply. "But I have a feeling Kagome's arrow won't be turned back."

"And why is that?" the hebi-kitsune asked, synthetic green eyes narrowing.

"Simple… just watch… we'll see if I'm right." Noriyuune glanced at him, before her eyes moved to Kagome. Shippo was warning her that her arrow would be shot back at her, but Kagome, like the demoness, seemed convinced that it would not. She shot, and the holy powers flared around the arrow, a bright trail of pink light following it as it raced towards the group of demons. It hit the mirror, and then proceeded to go _into _it.

"I thought so," Noriyuune grinned, feeling rather triumphant over her correct assumption. "The demon's mirror has taken the villagers souls, like it did part of Kagome's. A miko's powers has a lot to do with souls. The sacred arrow is too much like a group of souls for the Mirror to reflect. It wants to absorb it instead." As she spoke, the demon of the void seemed to have made that connection herself. The mirror was about to burst, she said, and held it forward, releasing the souls.

No sooner had the souls returned to their bodies, than did Miroku brandish his hand towards the group of demons. Noriyuune had certainly not expected the little black hole that was in his palm, sucking in everything in front of it. She couldn't help but stare in shock at what she was witnessing. She barely noticed that the girl had woken, and was also staring at the monk. He didn't leave the Kazaana open long, as Naraku escaped with his two incarnations. Slowly she got to her feet, debating what she should do. One thing was clear… there were injuries to treat. Alder got to his feet, and disappeared for a moment, returning with her bags, along with Kagome's yellow backpack.

She turned to him, and then looked at the backpack. Quickly she opened it, and began to dig through until she found the miko's medical supplies. She let out a sigh of relief, before setting her jaw and rushing over to the injured hanyou and Kagome.


End file.
